ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Coastal Erosion

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when officials from her Department last visited Happisburgh, Norfolk to assess the risks of coastal erosion.

Margaret Beckett: Responsibility for assessing the risks of coastal erosion at Happisburgh rests with North Norfolk district council. While DEFRA has provided funding for related studies, it has not been necessary or appropriate for officials to visit for this purpose.

Departmental Annual Report

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will update Tables 5.1 to 5.5 from the Departmental Annual Report.

Alun Michael: We are working on revising the base data for Tables 5.1 to 5.5 for inclusion in the 2003 Departmental Report.

Eco-labelling

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of existing eco-labelling; and what her policy on it is.

Michael Meacher: holding answer 19 March 2003
	The Government asked the Advisory Committee on Consumer Products and the Environment (ACCPE) to look at environmental labelling as one of its first tasks when it was set up in 1999. Two studies were commissioned to look at the effectiveness of different labelling approaches—these were "Environmental Labelling of Consumer Products: Lessons for the UK market from existing schemes" (carried out by Ernst & Young and Atlantic Consulting) and an in-depth study of the innovative "TerraChoice" scheme in Canada (carried out by the IEMA and BSI).
	ACCPE's recommendations on this subject were included in its first report, "Choosing Green" (available on the Department's website). The Committee concluded that it would not be worthwhile setting up a national ecolabelling award scheme for the UK, alongside the existing EU ecolabelling scheme. They considered that the Government should focus its labelling "award" efforts on the EU scheme, but should also develop other approaches for improving the environmental information on products. The other approaches recommended included promoting awareness of the various good quality labelling schemes on the market; raising the standard of self-declared 'green claims' by business; and making full use of the internet. The Government accepted the advice of the Committee and have been following up the detail of these recommendations.
	Our policy recognises that environmental labelling has a significant part to play in raising consumers' awareness of the environmental impacts of products and in helping them to make informed choices. We have actively supported the EU ecolabelling scheme (having invested over £5 million to date in running and promoting it) and are committed to improving it as a market instrument. We have also actively supported the EU energy label and its extension to an increasing range of products in the single market, as well as looking at the scope for using it in other applications in the UK market, for example on cars and homes.
	We are also keen to promote awareness of other reliable labelling schemes which target a specific issue or sector, such as the FSC label for sustainable timber and comparative labels for the VOC content of paints. Our consumer information leaflet "Hi I'm Green" contains information about these and other common labels, and a new pocket-sized "shopper's guide" to green labels will be published soon.
	The Government are also working to improve the quality and quantity of self-declared environmental claims. These are a major source of information for consumers about the environmental impacts of products, so it is important that such claims are clear and helpful. We continue to promote the "Green Claims Code", which advises businesses on good practice in making green claims, and more detailed guidance is now being prepared in consultation with the relevant business sectors.
	We are also exploring some more novel approaches to information for purchasers. One of ACCPE's recommendations was for a new Internet information service, perhaps targeted initially on public procurement, and proposals for this are being developed.

Eggs (Compulsory Marking)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the penalties that should be applied to egg producers in breach of the EU's planned rules on compulsory marking.

Margaret Beckett: As far as possible, the relevant enforcement bodies seeks to encourage compliance with the egg marketing legislation through good communication and advice. In common with other aspects of the rules, where a minor discrepancy is discovered, producers will be given guidance on how to comply, and a reminder may be included on the inspection report. In more serious cases, Notices of Contravention will be served requiring compliance before the product can be marketed. Prosecution is normally only considered where serious breaches are found, or where there has been non co-operation in putting things right. In the event of a prosecution, the level of penalty is a matter for the court to decide but the maximum penalty for breaches of the egg marketing regulations is £5,000 per offence.

Eggs (Compulsory Marking)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 25 February 2003, Official Report, column 455W, on egg marking, what assessment she has made of the costs to small egg producers of complying with the new rules on marking.

Margaret Beckett: Compliance costs will vary considerably depending on producers' individual circumstances. For producers selling their own ungraded eggs direct to consumers, there will be no additional costs as they fall outside the scope of these rules. Similarly, producers selling eggs through larger registered packing stations will be unaffected as the marking will take place at the packing station. For those producers who package eggs on farm for subsequent marketing, the cost will depend on the size of throughput and the degree of sophistication of the stamping equipment. For very small producers, a hand stamp can be purchased for a few pounds, and the time costs should be minimal. For larger producers, the cost of automated stamping machinery starts at between £2,000 and £3,000.

Eggs (Compulsory Marking)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is her policy to introduce the compulsory marking of eggs from birds other than hens.

Margaret Beckett: At present there are no plans at either EU or UK level to seek to introduce the compulsory marking of eggs from birds other than hens.

Fisheries

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will place the issue of cetacean bycatch on the agenda of the next meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will make it her policy to secure international agreement to reduce incidental cetacean bycatch in European waters by the winter of 2004–05; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: I am determined to make progress to reduce cetacean bycatch. However, effective action to address the problem needs to be taken on the part of all member states involved in the fisheries concerned and the Commission. This is why we raised the need for urgent action to address the issue of cetacean bycatch at the January Council of Ministers' meeting. I have also raised this issue with Commissioner Fischler on a number of occasions both in writing and in personal contacts. I have also recently written to the Commission to press for urgent action to widen observer coverage off the south west coast where a number of other member states' vessels fish. I was pleased that the Commission included a commitment to take action in this area in papers produced as part of the recent reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. I am now looking for positive action in advance of 2004–05 in response to our recent approaches.
	In the meantime, DERA has also committed some £140,000 for trials into the use of exclusion devices developed by the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) to reduce the bycatch of cetaceans in the offshore bass fishery. I will also, along with the devolved administrations, shortly be issuing a consultation document outlining a UK bycatch response strategy. This will set out the extent of our knowledge of bycatch in UK waters and make proposals for action to address the bycatch problem. The document will be placed in the Library of the House and I will ensure that my hon. Friend receives a personal copy.

GM Crops

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what control the GM Debate Steering Board will have over the Food Standards Agency's GM public debate;
	(2)  how the Food Standards Agency's GM public debate will contribute to the Government's GM public debate.

Michael Meacher: The Food Standards Agency is organising a number of activities as a contribution to the wider GM Public Dialogue announced by the Secretary of State last July. The Agency is an independent body and has taken this action on its own initiative in coordination with the GM dialogue. The Agency will continue to update the Public Debate Steering Board on its activities and provide it with a copy of its findings, which will feed into the wider GM Public Debate.

Horse Welfare

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with horse welfare groups in the United Kingdom.

Alun Michael: I have regular contact, directly and through officials, with representatives of horse industry organisations. I have discussed horse welfare issues most recently with the RSPCA and with the British Horse Society which represents horse industry interests on the Rural Affairs Forum for England. In addition our officials have recently met horse welfare groups to discuss the proposed Animal Welfare Bill and the Defra Horse Industry Team has frequent contact with the British Horse Society, the British Horse Industry Confederation and the British Equestrian Federation.

Horse Welfare

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on horse welfare in the United Kingdom.

Alun Michael: The proposed Animal Welfare Bill provides an opportunity to improve welfare standards for horses. The possible improvements include allowing a prosecution to be brought where an animal is being maintained in a way that will lead to unnecessary suffering, the licensing of livery stables and controls to combat poor tethering.

Illegal Imports

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's Don't Bring Back More Than You Bargained For campaign.

Margaret Beckett: Qualitative research undertaken on behalf of Defra has shown that the Don't Bring Back More Than You Bargained For campaign has raised travellers' awareness of the import rules for food and plants by 10 per cent.

Illegal Imports

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what analysis has been made of products seized under Regulation 24 in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03, broken down by country of origin of the products seized; and if she will place a copy in the Library.

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the countries which, since 1997, have been identified as the original source of illegal imports of (a) meat, (b) fish and (c) other food products, by type.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 19 March 2003
	Data on products seized have been held by the Illegal Animal Product Seizures (ILAPS) database since April 2001. It is analysed on a monthly basis and the results are circulated to the relevant enforcement authorities. These reports are not published documents since they contain sensitive information which is relevant to the targeting of enforcement activity. We shall shortly publish the report on the risk assessment of the import of meat and meat products contaminated with foot and mouth disease virus. That report includes analysis of the overall risk by world region of origin. A copy will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Illegal Imports

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to transfer provision from her Department's budget to that of HM Customs and Excise when Customs takes over responsibility for controls on illegal imports of animal and plant products.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 18 March 2003
	The Government have allocated £25 million over the three years commencing 2003–04 for work on illegal meat and plant imports. We expect to announce very shortly how much of the available budget will transfer to HM Customs and Excise in 2003–04 to fund their new responsibilities for anti-smuggling controls on animal and plant products.

National Parks

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to introduce congestion charging in national parks.

Alun Michael: Under the Transport Act 2000 it is for each local traffic authority to consider whether there is a case for introducing charging schemes in its area. Any such proposals require the approval of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.

National Parks

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received about the designation order for the South Downs National Park.

Alun Michael: About 5,000 representations have been received in regard to the South Downs National Park Designation Order. These relate to the principle of a National Park, the boundary, and administrative arrangements. We are currently considering the responses and I expect to make an announcement on the next steps soon.

National Parks

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many visitors there were to each of the National Parks in each of the last 10 years.

Alun Michael: Statistics are not collected annually. The last comprehensive visitor survey of the National Parks was undertaken in 1994. The figures are given in the following table. A new survey is to be undertaken in 2004.
	
		
			 National park Visitor days 
		
		
			 Lake District 13,925,000 
			 Peak District 12,400,000 
			 Yorkshire Dales 8,303,000 
			 North York Moors 7,790,000 
			 Dartmoor 3,825,000 
			 Northumberland 1,408,000 
			 Exmoor 1,397,000

Procurement Contracts

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many procurement contracts in her Department have been awarded in the last year; how many such contracts used pre-tender short listing criteria that did not include (a) environmental criteria for the contract and (b) the environmental record of companies; what the total cost in the last year was of such contracts; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Rural Poverty (Wiltshire)

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of rural poverty in Wiltshire; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: We do not have data on rural poverty at the county level although local authorities may have undertaken work on poverty in their area. In England as a whole fewer rural households than urban households are below 60 per cent. of average household income which is accepted as a normal poverty indicator.
	The average (median) income is approximately £18,000 per annum, so the 60 per cent. level is approximately £10,800. Figure 1 compares urban and rural levels of income-poverty.
	
		Figure 1. Households in income poverty
		
			  Rural Urban 
		
		
			 Number of households 5,918,756 15,202,778 
			 Household income less than 60 per cent. of the median 1,347,399 4,031,904 
			 Total (percentage) 23.2 26.5 
		
	
	Source:
	Countryside Agency, (2002) "The state of the countryside 2002", Countryside Agency, Cheltenham.
	In 2001, 1 per cent. of rural wards in the South West had an average household income of below £15,000 per year, compared with 7 per cent. of urban wards.
	
		Figure 2. Average (mean) household income, 2001
		
			  Percentage of wards with household income: 
			  Less than £15,000 £15,000-£20,000 £20,000-£25,000 £25,000-£30,000 Above £30,000 
		
		
			 South West  
			 Rural 1 27 39 24 8 
			 Urban 7 42 33 12 5 
			   
			 All England  
			 Rural 2 20 29 27 22 
			 Urban 9 28 26 19 18 
		
	
	Source:
	Countryside Agency, (2002), "The state of the countryside 2002: South West", Countryside Agency, Cheltenham

DEFENCE

Media Interviews

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what rules he has made about serving members of the armed forces talking to the media; and what plans he has for revising them.

Lewis Moonie: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 15 May 2002, Official Report, column 642W. There are no plans to revise the Queen's Regulations covering this issue.

Balance Sheets

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the balance sheets maintained by his Department's management groupings since 1999–2000.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Biological/Chemical Warfare

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) the man-portable chemical agent detector, (b) the light-weight chemical agent detector and (c) the integrated biological protection system will be available for service for war in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence gave on 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 138W.

Canister Incident (Hurst)

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the canisters washed up at Hurst in the western Solent last week and removed by the Royal Navy.

Lewis Moonie: During the week of 10 March, a number of silver metallic canisters washed up along the Solent and on the Isle of Wight. On two occasions, a Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Unit were asked by civil authorities to examine the canisters and did so. On the first occasion the Royal Navy removed 15 canisters for safe keeping. On the second occasion they x-rayed canisters in situ. All canisters examined were found to be empty. The canisters were not of a type suitable for use as ordnance or to contain gas and they did not contain any mechanism that would allow them to disperse their contents into the environment. Any further investigation into how the canisters came to be washed up is a matter for the civil authorities.

Defence Finance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) of 24 March 2002, Official Report, column 299W, on defence finance, what the (a) gross and (b) net costs of DESO are; what the sources of offsetting income are; and if he will make a statement on the financial benefits to the defence budget.

Adam Ingram: A table of operating costs for the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) for the last two years is as follows:
	
		£ million
		
			 Financial years Expenditure Receipts Net operating costs  
		
		
			 2000–01 55.810 41.430 14.380 
			 2001–02 48.930 37.853 11.077 
		
	
	Main sources of offsetting income for DESO are three Government to Government project offices, where the customer country pays Ministry of Defence costs, and the Disposal Services Agency where costs are met from revenue.
	DESO raises other sources of income from charging industry for activities undertaken on their behalf where Government independence from industry is not essential and when costs can be directly identified, calculated and recovered from individual companies. On this basis charges are raised for a proportion of the costs of the following activities: demonstrations of defence equipment overseas, demonstrations of defence equipment in the United Kingdom, Market Research and Publications, DESO Symposium and Seminars, and charging for Inward Visits. Savings to the defence budget come from spreading the fixed overhead cost of equipment over the longer production runs generated by exports, from the sale of surplus military equipment to overseas governments and from Commercial Exploitation Levy receipts on exports of equipment developed using public money.

European Defence Co-operation

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent he is cooperating with other European defence ministries to avoid overlapping of military resources; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Co-operation on military capabilities is taking place within the EU and NATO and through bilateral agreements, and is a subject of regular ministerial discussion.
	Within the EU, the European Capabilities Action Plan is fostering co-operation between member states to fill specific shortfalls against the Helsinki Headline Goal. NATO's capabilities initiative—the Prague Capabilities Commitment—also aims to strengthen European capabilities and complements the ECAP/Headline Goal process. We are working to ensure that EU and NATO capability development is closely co-ordinated and mutually reinforcing, most recently through agreement on a mechanism as part of the Berlin Plus arrangements, and the United Kingdom plays an active part in both. By encouraging co-operation in pursuit of agreed force goals, these two initiatives help to ensure the coherency of capabilities between member states and Allies. We also seek to maximize efficiencies through bilateral defence co-operation—for example, in our plan with France to harmonise activity cycles and training for our aircraft carriers.

European Defence Co-operation

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what discussions he has held with (a) NATO counterparts and (b) other EU member states on the EU's future role, with particular regard to (i) humanitarian and peacekeeping missions and (ii) immediate response capability; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the relationship between the NATO Response Force and EU member states' responsibilities under the EU Headline Goals for defence-related issues.

Geoff Hoon: I have regular discussions with my NATO and European Union counterparts, both bilaterally and in the framework of each organisation.
	The current scope of EU Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) is defined in the EU Treaty as "humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking", the so-called "Petersberg Tasks". In the Convention on the Future of Europe, the United Kingdom has proposed modernising and extending the list, to reflect the range of roles the EU should be aiming to play in crisis management and to broaden the ESDPs proactive role in wider conflict prevention, for example by adding stabilisation, conflict prevention, and defence outreach/diplomacy. Decisions on a new EU Treaty are for the Intergovernmental Conference, and these matters have not yet been discussed internationally at ministerial level.
	The Headline Goal agreed at the Helsinki European Council in 1999 stated that member states should, within the overall target, "provide smaller rapid response elements available and deployable at very high readiness". This subject was recently discussed at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in November 2002, at informal meetings of EU Defence Ministers in October 2002 and March 2003, and at bilateral meetings such as with the French Defence Minister in Le Touquet last month where we noted the need to improve further European capabilities in planning and deploying forces at short notice, including initial deployment of land, sea and air forces within 5–10 days.
	At the NATO Summit in Prague last year, Heads of State and Government agreed to create a NATO Response Force (NRF). Further work on the NRF concept is currently being undertaken by the Military Committee in NATO, aiming to achieve an initial operating capability by no later than October 2004. Each nation has a single set offerees which may be used nationally, or in NATO, EU or coalition operations, and ultimately it is up to nations to decide when and where to commit their forces. We are working to ensure that the work on NRF and on rapid response elements under the EU Headline Goal is mutually reinforcing

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF planes have landed at Gibraltar in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: The number of RAF aircraft landings at Gibraltar over the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			 Year Number of RAF landings 
		
		
			 1998 1,028 
			 1999 1,532 
			 2000 1,160 
			 2001 520 
			 2002 454

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy ships have docked in Gibraltar in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: The number of Royal Navy ship visits to Gibraltar in each of the past five years is detailed in the table. For completeness the information has been presented to show visits by Royal Navy ships, Royal Fleet auxiliary vessels and Royal Navy submarines.
	
		
			  Royal Navy ship Royal Fleet auxiliary ship RNsubmarine 
		
		
			 1998 40 18 2 
			 1999 26 40 6 
			 2000 31 40 5 
			 2001 31 17 1 
			 2002 43 14 —

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will initiate discussions with Spain to allow (a) RAF planes to fly direct to Gibraltar over Spain and (b) Royal Navy ships to sail in Spanish waters on the way to Gibraltar.

Adam Ingram: There are no immediate plans to do so. The future of the relationship between the United Kingdom and Spain over Gibraltar, and hence the restrictions on access, remain to be resolved. However, our defence relations with Spain are close and it remains our view that dialogue with Spain and Gibraltar is the best way to resolve these access issues.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role Gibraltar's military base played in preparing for conflict in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: Gibraltar is a key staging post and forward mounting base. The Naval Task Group headed by HMS Ark Royal transited the Straits en route to the Gulf and some vessels called at Gibraltar. Elements of the Air Group also embarked via Gibraltar as the Task Group transited east. Six Royal Gibraltar Regiment officers and soldiers are currently in the Gulf attached to deployed units.

Guided Bombs

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the UK's precision guided bomb requirements.

Adam Ingram: The Precision Guided Bomb programme will provide the RAF with an all weather precision bombing capability on Tornado GR4, Harrier GR9 and Typhoon.
	The programme is currently in its assessment phase in which the exact In-service date will be defined, but it is currently planned to be late 2006. In the interim, the Tornado GR4 has been given an all-weather precision guided bomb capability with Enhanced Paveway Bombs, which entered service in October 2001.

Gulf Forces

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Government have commissioned capacity from ships and aircraft to supply the needs of an additional humanitarian emergency in the area of the Gulf where UK forces are operating.

Adam Ingram: Planning for the movement of pre-positioned humanitarian aid in the Gulf envisages the use of in-theatre military or Royal Fleet Auxiliary assets. Officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development remain in close contact over the possible use of military or military-chartered assets for the movement of further humanitarian supplies to the region.

Humanitarian Relief

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funds his Department has been allocated in connection with humanitarian relief tasks (a) this year and (b) last year; and for what purposes.

Adam Ingram: The ambit of Defence Votes does not ordinarily include funding for humanitarian aid, which is a responsibility of the Department for International Development. Therefore, no funding was provided for this task in 2001–02. Funding will be provided in 2002–03, for the conflict in Iraq, to cover the United Kingdom's legal requirements under the 1949 Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilians in Time of War. The final amount required has yet to be determined.

Humanitarian Relief

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance British forces are giving to the Department for International Development in respect of contingency plans for humanitarian relief missions in Iraq and the Gulf region.

Lewis Moonie: Ensuring the provision of humanitarian relief to the people of Iraq, both during and immediately following any conflict, will be one of the coalition's highest priorities. Experts from the Department for International Development are embedded in the United Kingdom National Component Command Head-Quarters in Kuwait to advise the armed forces on how to address urgent humanitarian need in advance of UN agencies and NGOs being able to operate safely in a post-conflict environment.

Insurance Schemes

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to alter insurance provision for serving members of the armed forces when the existing PAX and RPAX insurance schemes expire.

Lewis Moonie: Revised PAX and RPAX schemes will operate from 1 July 2003. The Ministry of Defence is currently negotiating benefits and premiums with commercial providers.
	While every effort is being made to achieve best value for money, replicating existing benefits is unlikely in the current insurance climate. Some combination of increased premiums and decreased benefits appears likely. Changes will apply to all scheme members, both new and existing. Details of the new schemes will be promulgated to all Service personnel (Regulars and Reservists) once they are available. Existing PAX and RPAX members will automatically migrate to the new schemes.

Insurance Schemes

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations have been made to him about the operation of the (a) PAX and (b) RPAX insurance schemes; and what plans he has to augment these schemes for reservists being called up during the current crisis.

Lewis Moonie: PAX provides Personal Accident and Life cover for Regulars and RPAX for Reservists. No representations have been made to the Secretary of State for Defence about the operation of these schemes. There are no plans to augment arrangements for Reservists provided under RPAX.

Interdepartmental Fund Transfers

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funds have been transferred from the Department for International Development to the Ministry of Defence in each of the last four years; and for what purposes.

Adam Ingram: The cross-departmental Conflict Prevention Fund was established in the 2000 Spending Review. This joint approach by the Ministry of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development maximises the impact of the conflict prevention work done by each Department by ensuring it is based on a shared strategy and common objectives. It also allows the United Kingdom to react flexibly and more rapidly to emerging crises and to opportunities for peace building.
	Conflict prevention expenditure from the three Departments was brought together in two pooled budgets—one for sub-Saharan Africa and one for the rest of the world. Programme funds for conflict prevention in sub-Saharan Africa are included as a ring-fenced element in the Department for International Development's Departmental Expenditure Limit. Programme funds for conflict prevention in the rest of the world are included in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Departmental Expenditure Limit. Both pools are managed jointly by the three departments and funds are transferred between relevant Departments to cover expenditure incurred in pursuit of commonly-agreed objectives. Since the pools' inception there have therefore been a number of transfers between pool partners associated with their management. The amounts and purposes of these transfers are set out in the relevant Estimates, all of which are available in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the man-portable communications electronic support measures system will be operational for war in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: We have deployed a range of surveillance equipment in support of current operations. I am withholding details in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Javelin

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Javelin anti tank weapon to enter service.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 308W, to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock).

Military Contracts

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will award a contract for the Urban Operations Study for the armed forces; how long the contract will last; how much money the contract is worth; when equipment tested will enter service; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Urban Operations Study contract is expected to be let towards the end of April 2003 subject to completion of the competitive bid assessment and contract negotiation process. The Study is expected to last for up three years. While contract values can not be confirmed until the tender assessment process is complete it is likely that the study will be valued at about £2.5 million. Supporting contracts will also be let with QinetiQ and DSTL to assist and manage the analysis of the data collected and help convert this into prioritised user requirements in order to support equipment programming action. Equipment tested and prioritised for acquisition would enter service from 2005. Future acquisition could, however, be subject to normal affordability considerations.

Military Training

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Royal Air Force training exercises have been cancelled since 1 January as a result of personnel allocated to Operation FRESCO.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 20 March 2003
	Operation Swift Hawk was cancelled in February 2003. This exercise was in support of rotary wing aircrew training. No other training exercises have been cancelled as a result of Operation Fresco.

Military Training

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which training exercises to be undertaken by (a) 2nd Bn, Royal Anglian Regiment, (b) 1st Bn, Royal Green Jackets, (c) 1st Bn, King's Own Scottish Borderers, (d) 16 Regiment, Royal Artillery, (e) 40 Regiment, Royal Artillery, (f) 4 Regiment, Royal Artillery, (g) Light Dragoons, (h) 22 Engineer Regiment, (i) 38 Engineer Regiment, (j) 1st Bn, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, (k) Royal Dragoon Guards, (l) 21 Engineer Regiment, (m) 1st Bn, King's Regiment (n) Queen's Royal Hussars, (o) 1st Bn, Queen's Lancashire Regiment, (p) 1st Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, (q) 22 Regiment, Royal Artillery, (r) 1st Bn, Cheshire Regiment, (s) 1st Bn, Royal Anglian Regiment, (t) 32 Regiment, Royal Artillery, (u) 4 General Support Regiment, RLC, (v) 3 Close Support Regiment, RLC, (w) 1st Bn, Royal Regiment of Wales, (x) 1st Bn, Welsh Guards, (y) 27 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, (z) 1st Bn, Scots Guards, (aa) 1st Bn, Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment, (bb) Household Cavalry, (cc) 1st Bn, Grenadier Guards, (dd) 1stBn, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, (ee) 1stBn, Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and (ff) 1st Bn, Royal Highland Fusiliers have been cancelled as a result of the units being on stand by for Operation Fresco.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 20 March 2003
	Of the units listed, the following have had major training exercises cancelled as a direct result of Operation Fresco:
	
		
			 Serial (a)/Unit (b) Exercise (c) Remarks (d) 
		
		
			 1. 2nd Bn, Royal Anglian Regiment UK MILAN Concentration 2 week dry/live anti-tank training 
			 2. 1st Bn, Royal Green Jackets GRAND PRIX 6 week FTX(1) 
			 3. 1st Bn, Kings Own Scottish Borderers UK MILAN Concentration 2 week dry/live anti-tank training 
			 4. 16 Regiment, the Royal Regiment of Artillery CENTAURS BOW 1 week CPX(2) 
			 5. 40 Regiment, The Royal Regiment of Artillery IRON THUNDERGRAND PRIXIRON SQUALL 1 week CAST(3)6 week FTX1 week CPX 
			 6. 4 Regiment, The Royal Regiment of Artillery Artillery Firing Camp 3 week dry/live firing 
			 7. 22 Engineer Regiment LION SUN 5 week FTX 
			 8. 38 Engineer Regiment GRAND PRIX 6 week FTX 
			 9. Queen's Royal Hussars Armoured Firing Camp 2 week dry/live firing 
			 10. 1st Bn, The Queen's Lancashire Regiment DRUIDS DANCE 4 week FTX 
			 11. 1st Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery IRON SQUALLIRON THUNDERSEA TROUT 1 week CAST1 week CPX3 week light gun firing camp 
			 12. 1st Bn, The Royal Anglian Regiment IRON RAM 2 week exchange FTX 
		
	
	(1) Field Training Exercise
	(2) Command Post Exercise
	(3) Command and Staff Trainer
	In addition, all units involved in Operation FRESCO have had their training plans affected to varying degrees. Detailed information on the impact on individual units could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Online Sales/Purchases

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) products, (b) goods and (c) services were (i) bought and (ii) sold online by his Department in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: During the last five years the Ministry of Defence has bought the following products, goods and services online:
	
		
			 Year Product 
		
		
			 1998 Naval stores  
			  Medical supplies 
			   
			 1999 Naval stores  
			  Medical supplies 
			   
			 2000 Naval stores and cables  
			  Medical supplies 
			   
			 2001 Tools  
			  Cables 
			  Medical supplies 
			   
			 2002 Tools 
			  Cables 
			  Adhesives, tapes and sealants 
			  Bearings, pipe, tubing and valves 
			  Stationery 
			  Metals 
			  Polymers 
			  Packaging 
			  Medical supplies 
		
	
	In addition, over the past six months the Ministry of Defence has piloted on-line reverse auctions which are a means of buying items or services against a published specification where pre-selected industrial partners are invited to bid in an on-line auction. In the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) the Battlefield Infrastructure Integrated Project Team has used this technique to purchase battlefield survey equipment and within in the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) the Non-Project Procurement Organisation has used the technique to purchase cleaning products, resilient mounts and anti-freeze. Both DPA and DLO are planning to run further reverse auctions over the coming months, and the Department's corporate requirement for utilising the technique is now being scoped with a view to introducing such a capability during the next financial year.
	The Disposal Services Agency will begin piloting an "e-Trade exchange" in April providing information to other Government departments on the availability of surplus MOD IT equipment which is available for purchase. The Disposal Services Agency website (www.disposalsservicesagency.mod.uk) aims to provide information to explain how to purchase Ministry of Defence surpluses either as a business or a member of the public as well as to explain the Agency's role in selling MOD surplus assets.
	The MOD has recently published "Defence e-Business: Understanding the Commercial Issues" in collaboration with the Defence Industries Council, and this publication provides guidance on the subject for both MOD staff and industry colleagues. The guide can be viewed online at www.contracts.uk. A hard copy version has also been produced and I am arranging for copies of this to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	The MOD is keen to embrace the technological advantages provided by e-Business to support the full range of procurement activities. To this end we are investing substantial sums of money, as well as consulting with industry, to ensure that these new technologies realise mutual benefits to the MOD and Industry.

Operation Desert Fox

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to his Department was of Operation Desert Fox; what this operation achieved; what impact the operation had on UK relations with France; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Operation Desert Fox was the name given to the December 1998 joint US-UK air operation against targets in Iraq. Information on the total cost of Operation Desert Fox cannot be reliably differentiated from the overall costs of military operations in the Gulf. The Ministry of Defence identifies the costs of operations in terms of the net additional costs it has incurred. The costs which the Ministry of Defence would have incurred had the operation not been undertaken for example—expenditure on wages and salaries or on conducting training exercises—are deducted from the total costs of the operation. The following table sets out the overall additional expenditure incurred by the Ministry of Defence as a direct result of operations in the Gulf in 1998–99 and 1999–2000, primarily enforcement of the No Fly Zones. Costs include operating costs for aircraft enforcing the No Fly Zones—primarily fuel and maintenance, plus the cost of maintaining personnel in-theatre. In-theatre costs include accommodation and utilities, equipment, plant, machinery, vehicles and allowances.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1998–99 35 
			 1999–2000 28 
		
	
	The aims of Operation Desert Fox were to degrade Saddam Hussein's military capability and reduce the threat that he posed to his neighbours. These aims were achieved and Saddam Hussein's war machine was seriously weakened. Contemporary estimates indicated that 87 per cent. of targets were either destroyed or damaged. A report on the results of Operation Desert Fox was sent to all Members of the House on 18 January 1999 and a copy was placed in the Library of the House.
	The United Kingdom continues to work closely with France as one of its key European partners.

Operation Desert Fox

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to his Department was of maintaining a presence in the Persian Gulf in each year since 1997; what this money was spent on; how he estimates this figure will change in the aftermath of a war in the region; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Department identifies the costs of Operations in terms of the net additional costs it has incurred. The costs which the Department would have incurred had the operation not been undertaken, expenditure on wages and salaries or on conducting training exercises for example, are not included in the total costs of the operation. The following table sets out the overall additional expenditure incurred by the Department as a direct result of operations in the Gulf, primarily enforcement of the No Fly Zones. Costs include operating costs for aircraft enforcing the No Fly Zones—primarily fuel and maintenance, plus the cost of maintaining personnel in-theatre. In-theatre costs include accommodation and utilities, equipment, plant, machinery, vehicles and allowances.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997–98 16 
			 1998–99 35 
			 1999–2000 28 
			 2000–01 25 
			 2001–02 (4)61 
			 2002–03 (estimate) (4)45 
		
	
	(4) Denotes figure calculated on a full resource cost basis; all previous figures are cash-based.
	This does not include the cost of Operation Telic, forecast at £1 billion for 2002–03. I am withholding a more detailed breakdown of the figures for this operation in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information as it could compromise operational planning and the security of our Servicemen and women.
	It is too early to say what costs might be incurred by forces required following operations in Iraq.

Operational Deployments

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the (a) Army and (b) RAF is (i) deployed and (ii) warned to deploy to operations, including operation FRESCO.

Adam Ingram: The following table shows the percentage of Service personnel from the Army and RAF currently deployed on operations including Operation FRESCO as at 14 March 2003. The table also shows the approximate percentage of Army and RAF personnel warned to deploy on operations.
	
		
			  Percentage deployed on Operations Percentage warned to deploy 
		
		
			 Army 57.5 4–5 
			 Air Force 24 1

Public Private Partnerships

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many departmental minutes issued by his Department were outstanding on 30 November 2002, that referred to public private partnerships as included in Table B14 of the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund Accounts; and what their value was.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 13 January 2003
	Fourteen of the liabilities shown in the Consolidated and National Loans Fund Accounts B14 statement for financial year 2001–02 were assumed by the Ministry of Defence as part of a long-term public private partnership and remained extant at 30 November 2002. These relate to the Ministry of Defence's nuclear operations, the contactorisation of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, the privatisation of the Dockyards at Rosyth and Devonport, the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency and the sale of Service married quarters. As the B14 statement shows, the nature of some of these liabilities makes it impossible to quantify their individual value. Accordingly, it is not possible to cost the overall value of these liabilities. The total value of those liabilities which can be quantified, is £16,855.5 million.

RAF Fairford

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the protocol between the USA and UK Governments whereby US planes can use RAF Fairford to undertake acts of war.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 18 March 2003
	The use of United Kingdom bases, including RAF Fairford, by the United States Visiting Force is set out in a number of confidential arrangements between the UK and US Governments. I am withholding the release of these documents in accordance with Exemption 1 (Defence, security and international relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. I can confirm, however, that the use of UK bases for combat operations by United States Air Force aircraft remains a matter for joint decision by the UK and US Governments at the appropriate time.

RAF Fairford

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with (a) the US Air Force and (b) local police forces on security at RAF Fairford.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is engaged in regular and frequent discussions with all parties with a responsibility for security at RAF Fairford, including the United States Air Force and the local police.

RAF Stanbridge

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role RAF Stanbridge, Leighton Buzzard is playing in the Iraq crisis.

Adam Ingram: RAF Stanbridge hosts some of the logistic computer systems that are used to manage the defence inventory. The staff that work there support the United Kingdom Armed Forces in peacetime, and when deployed for training and operations.

Satellite Centre

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has held with full members of NATO on the involvement of (a) associate members and (b) partners in the work of the Satellite Centre; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Under the terms of the Joint Action that established the EU Satellite Centre, non-EU European Allies and EU Accession Candidates are able, through mutual agreement, to task and participate in the work of the Centre. This is consistent with the United Kingdom's wish to see the EU Satellite Centre make an effective contribution to crisis management in the EU and other organisations, including NATO.

Search and Rescue

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the range is of UK combat search and rescue capabilities when launched (a) from a land-based platform and (b) from a sea-based platform, when working in conjunction with the UK's allies;
	(2)  what the range is of UK combat search and rescue capabilities when launched (a) from a land-based platform and (b) from a sea-based platform.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Stimulants

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the use of amphetamines and other stimulants by British armed forces.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 10 February 2003
	In common with civilian medical practice, amphetamines and other stimulant drugs may be prescribed by armed forces medical personnel for defined clinical conditions. However, such clinical conditions would preclude operational deployment. Misuse of these or other drugs would result in disciplinary action.

Stimulants

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the use of go pills and similar drugs by (a) Royal Air Force, (b) Fleet Air Arm and (c) Army Air Corps personnel (i) seconded to, (ii) attached to, (iii) under the operational command of and (iv) on personnel exchanges with the United States armed forces.

Lewis Moonie: United Kingdom armed forces aircrew serving on exchange or attachment with the United States armed forces operate under the same terms and conditions as US personnel. Therefore, any drug or non-medicinal products offered to US armed forces aircrew to counter fatigue would also be offered to UK aircrew on exchange or attachment who are engaged in the same mission. In accordance with US armed forces policy, the use of such products is voluntary and only permissible after individuals have been tested for adverse effects. The offer of these products is subject to strict criteria and close medical supervision. UK aircrew on exchange or attachment with the US armed forces are permitted to accept the same drugs to counter fatigue as US aircrew, subject to the same conditions.
	British forces under operational command of US forces would continue to adhere to standard UK operating procedures. It is not our practice to issue drugs or other products to UK armed forces aircrew to counter fatigue.

Tri-service Soldier Programme

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on Future Integrated Soldier Technology requirements.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I gave on 12 March 2003, Official Report, column 14WS.

South Korea

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many United Kingdom military personnel are serving with the United Nations Command in Korea.

Adam Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 6 March 2003, Official Report, column 1175W, to the hon. Member for Newark (Patrick Mercer).

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

British Transport Police

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General how many successful prosecutions there have been of offenders apprehended by the British Transport Police in each of the last four years.

Harriet Harman: All Crown Prosecution Service casework units across England and Wales are likely to receive cases for review and prosecution from a number of police sources, the British Transport Police being one such source. Crown Prosecution Service casework data are not disaggregated in a way that differentiates between various police sources. It would not be practicable, and would involve a disproportionate cost, now to survey all case files for the past four years to determine how many British Transport Police case files resulted in a successful prosecution.

House of Commons (Legal Advice)

John Burnett: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on her role and responsibilities for providing legal advice to this House.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 18 March 2003
	The Law Officers' role as legal advisors to Parliament covers three areas. First, the constitution and conduct of proceedings in the House, including questions of parliamentary privilege. Secondly, the conduct and discipline of Members. Thirdly, the meaning and effect of proposed legislation.
	However, by a longstanding convention, observed by successive Governments and reflected in the Ministerial Code, the Law Officers' legal advice to the Government remains confidential. This enables Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence. To express a view independently to Parliament on matters which may be consulted by the Government would undermine the confidentiality of the lawyer/client relationship between the Law Officers and the Government.

Iraq

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2003, Official Report, column 515W, to the hon. Member for Stone (Mr. Cash), what advice the Attorney-General has given the Government on war with Iraq without explicit United Nations authorisation.

Harriet Harman: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 17 March 2003, Official Report, column 515W, to the hon. Member for Stone (Mr. Cash), in which I set out the terms of a written answer by the Attorney-General to a question from Baroness Ramsay on his view of the legal basis for the use of force against Iraq.
	By longstanding convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact and substance of Law Officers' advice is not disclosed outside Government. This convention is referred to in paragraph 24 of the ministerial code.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to her answer of 17 March 2003, Official Report, column 515W, on Iraq, what discussions the Attorney-General has had with his United States counterpart on the legality of a military attack upon Iraq without a successor resolution to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441.

Harriet Harman: The Attorney-General had a short meeting with his US counterpart in Washington on 10 February. Discussion covered a range of legal issues. It is not the practice to disclose the content of confidential discussions with foreign Governments.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Crime Reduction

Piara S Khabra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role the (a) Prison Service and (b) probation services have in reducing crime; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The Prison and Probation Services contribute jointly to the Home Office target to reduce re-offending by 5 per cent. for both offenders sentenced to imprisonment and those given community sentences. The latest published figures, for adults commencing community penalties or discharged from custody in 1999, show a 3.2 per cent. reduction in reconvictions compared with 1997.

Land (Illegal Occupation)

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers on enforcing the law on illegal occupation of land.

Michael Wills: We meet the Association of Chief Police Officers regularly both at ministerial and official level to discuss a wide range of issues. On this issue of illegal occupation of land, the Association of Chief Police Officers were consulted. They made comments on our proposals announced in July 2002, that we intended to bring forward new eviction powers for police to deal with unauthorised encampments, where local authorities have made adequate site provision, without the preconditions found in the current legislation. We hope to bring forward the new powers once parliamentary time allows.

Neighbourhood Wardens

David Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the number of neighbourhood wardens who will be in place by the end of this financial year.

Beverley Hughes: There will be about 1,470 wardens in place by the end of the financial year.

Sex Trade

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to allow the victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation to claim asylum after they provide evidence against those responsible for the sex trade in trafficked women and children.

Hilary Benn: Victims of trafficking can apply for asylum in the United Kingdom in the same way as anyone else. Any such applications should be made as soon as is practicable.

Police Numbers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on police numbers.

Bob Ainsworth: By 31 March 2002 (the latest date available) there were 129,603 police-officers in England and Wales, a record number. There were also 58,909 civilian support staff in March 2002, also a record number.
	We have set a target of 130,000 police officers by 31 March 2003. We are confident that the target will be exceeded. We have set a further target of 132,500 police officers in 2004.

Sentencing Guidance Council

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will bring forward proposals for a Sentencing Guidelines Council; and if he will make a statement on its likely composition.

Hilary Benn: We are continuing to reflect on the issues raised during the Committee Stage of the Criminal Justice Bill in relation to the composition of the Sentencing Guidelines Council. Any changes would, we anticipate, be introduced at Report Stage.

Prison Capacity

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the planned average in-prison capacity is for 2004.

Hilary Benn: As at 19 March 2003, the planned average useable crowded capacity (operational capacity) is 75,000.

Antisocial Behaviour

Ian Cawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 has had on reducing anti-social behaviour.

Bob Ainsworth: The police service and local authorities may carry out directed surveillance under Part II of Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or of preventing disorder. However, no assessment has been made of the impact of RIPA on reducing anti-social behaviour.

Appeals

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations have been received in each year since 1988 regarding right to appeal cases to the Court of Appeal where the sentencing is seen to be unduly lenient; and if he will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: Further to my reply of 5 March 2003, the following table shows the number of cases received annually since 1992 (when records began to be kept) by the Law Officers for consideration of a referral to the Court of Appeal as an Unduly Lenient Sentence. The table also shows the number of cases referred by the Law Officers to the Court of Appeal and the number of cases in which the Court increased the sentence.
	
		
			  Number of cases received by LSLO for unduly lenient sentences Number of cases sent to the Court of Appeal Number of cases in which sentence increased 
		
		
			 1989 No records available 9 7 
			 1990 No records available 25 17 
			 1991 No records available 26 18 
			 1992 80 37 29 
			 1993 102 30 24 
			 1994 146 50 39 
			 1995 145 77 68 
			 1996 159 68 49 
			 1997 145 70 47 
			 1998 185 95 69 
			 1999 167 89 59 
			 2000 143 67 48 
			 2001 209 90 79 
			 2002 261 112 (5)53 
		
	
	(5) To date

Asylum Seekers

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of Scotland on the UK Government's policy on asylum seekers.

Beverley Hughes: There have been no recent discussions with the First Minister. However, I have regular quarterly meetings with Scottish Ministers (Anne McGuire, PUSS at Scotland Office and Margaret Curran, Minister for Social Justice) to discuss asylum and immigration matters.

Criminal Justice IT Systems

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will break down the expenditure for modernising the IT systems used by the criminal justice service outlined in the Justice for All White Paper by (a) item, (b) criminal justice system agency and (c) partner; what timetable governs the expenditure; and whether his Department is meeting that timetable.

Michael Wills: The Criminal Justice System (CJS) IT spending review for 2002 concluded with ring fenced funding of £834 million new money coupled with £324 million from existing baseline funding. This is intended to provide substantial impetus to reform and modernise the criminal justice system through funding significant new investment in IT. It is important that all criminal justice agencies make progress in a joined-up and consistent way according to common standards, requirements and timetables. A modern and effective IT system that enables secure e-mail, the electronic exchange of case information and case tracking by victims will benefit both users and practitioners.
	Officials are currently finalising the CJS IT delivery plan prior to presenting it to Ministers for their approval. Once Ministers have approved this plan we will publish an electronic progress report on the Criminal Justice Information Technology (CJIT) website, http://www.cjit.gov.uk. I will also write to the hon. Member at this time with that information.
	This report will include information on the investment profile, the IT that it will buy and the projected benefits that will be delivered. Copies of this report will be laid in the Library.

Emergency Planning

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with fellow Ministers in EU Governments regarding (a) the provision of a rapid reaction civil emergency force within the EU and (b) coordination at the EU level of measures needed to facilitate civil emergency planning.

David Blunkett: I have had no discussions with Ministers of EU Governments regarding the provision of a rapid reaction civil emergency force within the EU.
	There are on-going official level discussions about co-ordination needed to facilitate civil emergency planning in a number of EU working groups.

Victims' Personal Statements

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring is being undertaken of the impact of victims' personal statements on sentencing.

Hilary Benn: Victim personal statements provide the victims of crime with a formal opportunity to say how they have been affected, and for this to be taken into account by the criminal justice agencies in dealing with the case. The primary purpose of the statement is not to inform sentencing decisions. The implementation and effectiveness of the scheme is being evaluated.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Climate Change Levy

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the impact of the climate change levy upon the manufacturing sector.

Alan Johnson: The climate change levy is an environmental protection measure and is designed to avoid damaging the competitiveness of UK manufacturing. The levy's impact on individual manufacturing businesses will depend on the extent to which they take advantage of the various levy exemptions, the scheme of enhanced capital allowances for energy efficiency, and energy support from the Carbon Trust; and whether their sites qualify for a discount from the levy. Eligible sites in energy intensive industries are receiving an 80 per cent. levy discount where they have committed to challenging energy saving targets in negotiated agreements with the Government.
	The Government continue to keep in touch with business on the levy's operation to see how it is changing the way they manage their energy use.

Competitiveness Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the outcome was of the Competitiveness Council held in Brussels on 3 March; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry represented the UK at the Competitiveness Council 3 March 2003.
	Ministers at the Council reached an agreement on the Community Patent. The agreement combines new proposals on jurisdiction and distribution of patent fees with text agreed under the Spanish Presidency on languages and the role of patent offices.
	The main elements of the agreement include a unitary jurisdiction enforced by a single panel of the Court of First Instance, in Luxembourg, and a transitional period for enforcement of the patent by national courts to end by 2010 at the latest. On languages member states agreed that the regime for the Community patent should involve translations of the claims part of the patent document into all Community languages. They also agreed that the larger part of fee income should be redistributed according to measures of patent activity.
	The Presidency invited comments on the Report of the Competitiveness Council's input to the Spring European Council. Among other things, the report stresses the need for increased co-ordination between member states to create the European Research Area (ERA), a true internal market for science and knowledge, through the open method of co-ordination. This should firstly be applied to a number of research-related areas, such as the objective of raising European research spending to 3 per cent. of EU average gross domestic product (GDP), up from the current 1.9 per cent.
	The report highlighted the Competitiveness Council role as the 'guardian of competitiveness', ensuring that the effects of all measures taken on the competitiveness of European industry and services are fully taken into account in policy making. Impact assessment was the key to achieving the right balance between the three pillars of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry said that the new Council formation was still building competence and credibility; there was scope for a more ambitious input next year, which should be based on an integrated framework prepared by the High Level Group for Competitiveness and Growth. In particular, this should develop the Council's horizontal role in assessing the work of other Councils for its effects on competitiveness.
	There was a public debate on entrepreneurship that allowed member states to emphasise SMEs' crucial role in job creation, growth and innovation in Europe, and the need to better integrate the different policies enhancing entrepreneurship. Several member states, including the UK, mentioned the need to organise information campaigns to improve the image of entrepreneurship, to cut red tape, to improve the access to financing and to public procurement, and to cooperate actively at the regional and local level. The Council adopted conclusions on "The Promotion of Entrepreneurship and Small Firms".
	The Commission presented its initiative to simplify the Community's legal acquis. Work will be divided into two stages, the first involving consolidation and codification of legal texts thereby reducing the sheer number of pages of EU law. The second stage begin to reduce legal obligations on economic operators.
	Commissioner Busquin presented the Green Paper on European Space Policy. The paper forms the basis of a consultation, to be held from 22 January to 30 May 2003. The Presidency announced that an in-depth discussion on European Space Policy would take place at the next meeting of the Competitiveness Council on 12–13 May 2003.
	A progress report by the Commission summarised the state of play of negotiations on the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) nuclear fusion energy research project. A full progress report will be presented at the Competitiveness Council on 12–13 May.
	The Spanish and French delegations underlined the importance of the ITER project. They both confirmed their application to host the ITER facility. A consensus on a draft international agreement to fulfil the ITER, including the site and the cost-sharing scheme between partners, is envisaged for the end of 2003.
	The Commission outlined a timetable for their work on the proposed Chemicals Directive. The main elements of this were: an orientation debate to be held in the college before Easter and a five-week internet consultation with business and stakeholders and formal proposals adopted before the summer break. The Commission fully recognised the need to get the right balance between the protection of the environment, jobs and innovation.
	The Council reviewed progress on the Directive on takeover bids, presented by the Commission on 2 October 2002. This was followed by an exchange of views. The UK said the Presidency text was a good step towards reaching the necessary level playing field. Commissioner Bolkestein said the Commission would welcome any agreement that goes further than their proposal to achieve a level playing field, provided that it is acceptable both to the Council and to the Parliament.
	The Commission introduced its recently adopted proposal for a directive harmonising rules on the enforcement of intellectual property rights, aimed to combat large scale counterfeiting and actions with significant effects on right holders.
	Under other business Germany tabled a short paper on implementation of EU directives into national law. Germany suggested that the Commission should consider making a legal assessment as to whether national authorities have correctly implemented EU law when it receives notification of this implementation. The Commission argued that they already do this, when they collate information for the biannual Single Market Scoreboard. They were though willing to engage in further dialogue with Germany to improve systems.
	The Portuguese delegation presented to the Council the third "EUREKA meets Asia" event, to be held in Macao in May. The event aims to strengthen the relationship between European and Asian, and particularly Chinese, businesses.

Departmental Website

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total cost of her Department's website was in the last 12 months; and how many hits it received in the same period.

Patricia Hewitt: The support costs for the Department's websites are included in the overall service charge paid monthly under the IT service contract in place since 1 April 1999. There is no separation of website costs in this charge.
	The DTI site www.dti.gov.uk was redesigned in April 2002, at a cost of £60,294 including VAT.
	The number of hits to the site www.dti.gov.uk in the months February 2002 to January 2003 was 196,359,744.

Energy Production

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of power was produced by (a) coal, (b) oil and (c) nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available; how many (i) coal, (ii) oil and (iii) nuclear power plants operate in the UK; and what the lifespan is of each.

Brian Wilson: The available information on electricity supplied from particular types of plant is as follows and relates to 2002.
	
		
			  Percentage of electricity supplied Number of power plants(6) 
		
		
			 Coal 32 20 
			 Oil 1 29 
			 Nuclear 22 14 
		
	
	(6) Only covers stations of more than 1MW capacity. Mixed fired coal/oil and coal/gas fired stations have been included under coal and similarly mixed oil/gas fired stations are counted under oil. Oil plants include single cycle gas fired stations as well as diesel and kerosene fired stations. Data are as at end May 2002.
	Source:
	Energy Trends Table 5.1 and Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2002, Table 5.10. Generation data for 2002 are provisional.
	Information on the lifespan of coal and oil plants is not available as it is a technical and commercial matter for the individual companies concerned. Nuclear plants operate under licences and the latest published company information on expected station closure dates is as shown below.
	
		
			 Power station Expected date of closure 
		
		
			 British Energy  
			 Dungeness B 2008 
			 Hunterston 2011 
			 HinkleyB 2011 
			 Heysham 1 2014 
			 Hartlepool 2014 
			 Heysham 2 2023 
			 Torness 2023 
			 Sizewell B 2035 
			  
			 British Nuclear Fuels  
			 Calder Hall End March 2003 
			 Chapelcross 2005 
			 Sizewell A 2006 
			 Dungeness A 2006 
			 Oldbury 2008 
			 Wylfa 2010

EU Enlargement

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the benefits of EU enlargement for small and medium enterprises in Britain.

Patricia Hewitt: UK companies, including many SMEs, will benefit from the creation of the largest single market in the world, as it expands to include the fast growing economies of central and eastern Europe. Our trade with the new member states , from a low base, is growing much faster than UK's trade overall. Over 14,000 companies, many of them SMEs are already exporting to the region. Further analysis of the trade and investment impact is being finalised and will be published shortly.

Fireworks Bill

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she intends to produce a regulatory impact assessment for the Fireworks Bill.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 10 March 2003
	A partial Regulatory Impact Assessment is currently under production and will be available as soon as possible. A full RIA is required when regulations are laid in due course, if the Bill reaches the Statute Book.

Genetically Engineered Animals

Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what UK patents relating to genetically engineered animals and processes for creating such animals have been (a) applied for and published since 9 November 2001 and (b) granted since 9 November 2001.

Melanie Johnson: Since 9 November 2001 13 UK patents relating to genetically engineered animals and processes for creating them have been applied for and published. These were GB 2362383 A, GB 2362384 A, GB 2362885 A, GB 2367295 A, GB 2367555 A, GB 2367823 A, GB 2369828 A, GB 2370275 A, GB 2374870 A, GB 2376468 A, GB 2375110 A, GB 2376024 A, and GB 2377221 A. Since 9 November 2001 there have been three UK patents granted relating to genetically engineered animals and processes for creating them. These were GB 2370275 B, GB 2362885 B, and GB 2350613 B. This information does not include applications filed at the European Patent Office which may have the effect of UK patents if granted by that office.

Globalisation

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contribution the UK Government are making to the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	Through the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), officials from this Department offer advice and guidance to the World Commission. They have also participated in a European Union-organised joint consultation event to inform the World Commission about how EU member states address social and economic change, and the challenges of globalisation. The Department for International Development is supporting a workshop for the World Commission, on 8 April, on the effects of globalisation on employment and wages in developing countries, with particular reference to low-income groups and low income countries. In addition, Ministers and officials from both Departments regularly offer support and advice on the work of the Commission in meetings with the ILO.

Insolvency

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) individuals and (b) firms are licensed by recognised professional bodies to carry on their business as insolvency practitioners.

Melanie Johnson: Individuals, not firms, are authorised to act as an insolvency practitioner by either one of seven recognised professional bodies or by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. As at 31 December 2002 (the latest date figures are available) there were 1603 insolvency practitioners authorised by the recognised professional bodies.

New Energy Technologies

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans there are to (a) establish a national energy research centre and (b) encourage the research and development of new energy technologies.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 20 March 2003
	The information is as follows:
	(a) The Research Councils are developing proposals for a new UK energy research centre as part of the new £28 million cross-Council programme "Towards a Sustainable Energy Economy". The councils intend that the centre will be established by 1 April 2004. They announced a call for expressions of interest to operate the centre on 18 March 2003. Further information is available from: www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/programmes/sustenergy.
	(b) A programme to support renewables is already in place and is worth £250 million between 2002–03 and 2005–06. The 2002 Spending Review also allocated an additional £38 million for energy policy objectives in 2005–06 compared with 2002–03. This will now be increased by a further £60 million. The programme comprises a range of measures, including funding for R&D and demonstration projects, to accelerate the uptake of renewables.
	The Carbon Trust, which leads on low-carbon technology and innovation, is spending £75 million over the next three years to support R&D, development and other activities to bring forward new and emerging technologies. Funding for energy-related technology has also been available via the DTI's Innovation and Business Support programmes and though various European programmes.
	The Research Councils will spend over £11 million on energy-related research in 2002–03 and have been allocated an additional £28 million under the 2002 Spending Review for further research in support of a sustainable energy economy, including the establishment of the UK energy research centre.

Office of Fair Trading

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy to ensure that the Office of Fair Trading (a) more closely polices companies which may be in breach of the Consumer Contracts Regulations and (b) enforces stricter penalties on companies in breach of this contract.

Melanie Johnson: Under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, the Director General of Fair Trading (DGFT) has a duty to consider complaints about unfair terms in standard contracts between sellers or suppliers and consumers. The DGFT can and does act to stop terms he considers unfair. Action usually results in the terms being revised or deleted by agreement but the DGFT can if necessary apply to the Courts for an injunction to prevent the continued use of the term(s) concerned.

Post Office Card Accounts

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post office card accounts have been opened.

Stephen Timms: Beyond those used to pilot the new service no Post Office card accounts have yet been opened. The intention is to gradually build up (starting from April 2003) the number of benefit customers and pensioners that we pay through the Post Office card account. Approximately 106,000 customers have already chosen a Post Office card account and the issue of Personal Invitation Documents to those people, to start the account opening process, will begin on schedule at the end of March. DWP customers who have opted for a Card account but have not yet opened that account will continue to be paid by order book or giro as appropriate.

Pricing Policies

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what requirements are imposed by the Companies Act 1985 for disclosure of transfer pricing policies by companies.

Melanie Johnson: None.

Renewable Energy

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much energy was produced by renewable resources in the United Kingdom, in megawatts, broken down by generating source, in the last year for which figures are available; and how much energy was produced by fossil fuels.

Brian Wilson: The information requested is as follows and relates to 2001. Renewables accounted for 2.6 per cent. of electricity generated in the United Kingdom in 2001. Early estimates suggest that this rose to 3 per cent. in 2002. Detailed data for 2002 will not be available until June 2003.
	
		Electricity generated in the UK from renewable sources and from fossil fuels
		
			  GWh 
		
		
			 Wind 967 
			 Solar photovoltaics 2 
			 Hydro 4,055 
			 Landfill gas 2,507 
			 Sewage sludge digestion 363 
			 Municipal solid waste combustion(7) 948 
			 Other biofuels(8) 770 
			 Wastes (9),(10) 488 
			 Total generation from renewables(9),(11) 10,099 
			 Total generation from coal, oil and gas 279,213 
		
	
	(7) Biodegradable part only
	(8) Includes poultry litter combustion, meat and bone combustion, straw and short rotation coppice
	(9) Includes some waste of fossil fuel origin
	(10) Non biodegradable part of municipal solid waste
	(11) Because of rounding constituent parts do not sum to the total
	Source:
	Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2002, Tables 7.4 and 5.6

Renewable Energy

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding was allocated to development of renewable energy in each of the last five years; what areas the investments have been focused on; and when projects are expected to become economically viable.

Brian Wilson: Payments from the DTI's Renewable Energy Programme for each of the last five years have been as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997–98 6.8 
			 1998–99 5.9 
			 1999–2000 7.9 
			 2000–01 9.7 
			 2001–02 13.6 
		
	
	Government have followed a market-driven policy, rather than prescribing a specific focus for this research activity. The research and development projects supported have been the best proposals emanating from the renewable energy industry.
	Large-scale hydro and energy from waste are already commercially viable and well-established in the market. With the benefit of the Renewables Obligation, onshore wind also becomes commercially viable. Over the next four years, the Government plan to provide nearly £350 million direct support, mainly in the form of capital grants, to help more forms of renewable energy achieve economic viability, but we cannot predict when this will be achieved. The Energy White Paper gives some broad indications about the possible timescale on page 55, "A Renewables Timeline."

Supplier Selection (Environmental Criteria)

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what scope contracting authorities will have, under the current draft of the new EU public procurement Directive, to consider environmental criteria when selecting suppliers at the pre-tender stage of contracts; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The proposed new EC public procurement Directive provides various ways for contracting authorities to take environmental criteria into account at the selection (pre-tender) stage of the procurement process. In selecting suppliers to tender on the basis of their technical capability, environmental matters may be taken into account where justified by the subject of the contract. For works and services contracts, evidence of environmental management measures that the supplier will be able to apply when executing the contract can also be required by the contracting authority, where these are relevant to the subject of the contract. In addition, contracting authorities may exclude suppliers from tendering if they have been convicted of an offence concerning professional conduct, or have been guilty of grave professional misconduct. These can include relevant environmental issues.
	Environmental issues can also be taken into account at other stages of the procurement process. For example, contracting authorities have a great deal of scope to take environmental issues into consideration when defining the subject of the contract, and drawing up the specifications.

Timber Imports (Liberia)

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what volume of timber from Liberia was imported to the UK (a) in 2002 and (b) during the first two months of 2003.

Nigel Griffiths: According to figures published by HM Customs and Excise, the UK imported 4,738 tonnes or 5,705 cubic metres of timber from Liberia in 2002. Information for 2003 is not yet available.
	Timber is defined by headings 245.01, 246, 247 and 248 of the Standard International Trade Classification, Revision 3.

Trading Standards Departments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding is to be made available from the Office of Fair Trading Modernisation Fund for trading standards departments in local authorities in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05; and if she will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The OFT does not have a modernisation fund. The Department of Trade and Industry's Modernisation Fund was launched in 2001 investing £30 million to raise the level of consumer protection at local level. £13 million will be available in 2003–04 with a further £2 million available, in 2004–05 to fund projects and initiatives under the themes of effective enforcement, information and advice to consumers, raising trading standards capabilities and consumer safety.

Trading Standards Departments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) members of staff and (b) full-time equivalent vacancies there are in each trading standards department; and if she will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The total number of staff in Trading Standards Authorities in England and Wales as of 1 April 2002 was 3,749. Table 1 gives a breakdown for each authority; data are not available for seven authorities. Information on the total number of vacancies is not available.
	The total number of staff in Trading Standards Authorities in Scotland as of March 2002 was 511.6. The number of vacancies at this time was 53. Table 2 gives a breakdown for each authority.
	
		Table 1: Showing Trading Standards Staff Statistics at 1 April 2002—England and Wales
		
			 Local authority Total 
		
		
			 London  
			 Corporation of London 10.3 
			 Inner London  
			 Camden 12.0 
			 Greenwich 12.0 
			 Hackney 5.0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 4.9 
			 Islington 10.6 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 6.0 
			 Lambeth 2.5 
			 Lewisham 11.0 
			 Southwark 12.6 
			 Tower Hamlets 23.1 
			 Wandsworth 8.7 
			 Westminster 22.0 
			 Outer London  
			 Barking and Dagenham 19.2 
			 Barnet 14.5 
			 Bexley 13.0 
			 Brent and Harrow 35.0 
			 Bromley 12.7 
			 Croydon 21.8 
			 Baling 15.3 
			 Enfield 15.9 
			 Haringey 10.0 
			 Havering 16.2 
			 Hillingdon 9.2 
			 Hounslow 8.1 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 8.5 
			 Merton 10.5 
			 Newham 15.6 
			 Redbridge 14.0 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 9.7 
			 Sutton 12.2 
			 Waltham Forest 13.5 
			   
			 Metropolitan Districts  
			 Greater Manchester  
			 Bolton 16.5 
			 Bury 14.3 
			 Manchester 26.0 
			 Oldham n/a 
			 Rochdale 14.1 
			 Salford 12.8 
			 Stockport 21.9 
			 Tameside 13.3 
			 Trafford n/a 
			 Wigan 15.6 
			 Merseyside  
			 Knowsley 10.0 
			 Liverpool 25.0 
			 St. Helens 12.5 
			 Sefton 15.5 
			 Wirral 19.7 
			 South Yorkshire  
			 Barnsley 7.0 
			 Doncaster 12.0 
			 Rotherham 13.9 
			 Sheffield 19.6 
			 Tyne and Wear  
			 Gateshead 15.5 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 9.5 
			 North Tyneside 6.2 
			 South Tyneside 10.2 
			 Sunderland 12.0 
			 West Midlands  
			 Birmingham 78.2 
			 Coventry 25.0 
			 Dudley n/a 
			 Sandwell 28.8 
			 Solihull 15.0 
			 Walsall 24.2 
			 Wolverhampton — 
			 West Yorkshire Joint 124.0 
			   
			 Unitary Authorities England  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 11.4 
			 Blackburn 10.9 
			 Blackpool 16.0 
			 Bournemouth 13.0 
			 Bracknell Forest 6.1 
			 Brighton and Hove 14.0 
			 Bristol 15.8 
			 Darlington 9.9 
			 Derby 16.4 
			 East Riding 22.1 
			 Halton 9.4 
			 Hartlepool n/a 
			 Herefordshire 14.5 
			 Isle of Wight 13.0 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull 24.5 
			 Leicester 28.5 
			 Luton 16.4 
			 Medway Council 8.4 
			 Middlesbrough 25.4 
			 Milton Keynes 15.5 
			 North East Lincolnshire 15.8 
			 North Lincolnshire 14.0 
			 North Somerset 9.8 
			 Nottingham 23.5 
			 Peterborough 12.6 
			 Plymouth 14.4 
			 Poole 6.8 
			 Portsmouth 13.7 
			 Reading 12.2 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 12.0 
			 Rutland 0.3 
			 Slough 9.1 
			 South Gloucestershire 14.1 
			 Southampton 13.6 
			 Southend-on-Sea 10.6 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 12.1 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 20.0 
			 Swindon 12.6 
			 Telford and Wrekin 12.0 
			 Thurrock 6.0 
			 Torbay 9.2 
			 Warrington 13.5 
			 West Berkshire 10.1 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 11.0 
			 Wokingham n/a 
			 York 19.0 
			 English Counties  
			 Bedfordshire 26.1 
			 Buckinghamshire 39.5 
			 Cambridgeshire 37.9 
			 Cheshire 48.2 
			 Cornwall 53.6 
			 Cumbria 43.0 
			 Derbyshire 66.7 
			 Devon 45.0 
			 Dorset 28.5 
			 Durham 41.0 
			 East Sussex 25.0 
			 Essex 68.9 
			 Gloucestershire 43.1 
			 Hampshire 69.3 
			 Hertfordshire 44.2 
			 Kent 80.0 
			 Lancashire 83.8 
			 Leicestershire 48.6 
			 Lincolnshire 46.2 
			 Norfolk 72.3 
			 North Yorkshire 56.5 
			 Northamptonshire 49.0 
			 Northumberland 41.5 
			 Nottinghamshire 62.4 
			 Oxfordshire 43.4 
			 Shropshire 28.7 
			 Somerset 44.8 
			 Staffordshire 57.6 
			 Suffolk 50.6 
			 Surrey 73.2 
			 Warwickshire 60.9 
			 West Sussex 60.5 
			 Worcestershire 49.0 
			 Wiltshire 29.0 
			   
			 Wales  
			 Blaenau Gwent n/a 
			 Bridgend 13.0 
			 Caerphilly 15.9 
			 Cardiff 33.3 
			 Carmarthenshire 17.0 
			 Ceredigion 5.3 
			 Conwy 11.0 
			 Denbighshire 12.8 
			 Flintshire 13.5 
			 Gwynedd 14.3 
			 Isle of Anglesey 10.7 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 7.0 
			 Monmouthshire 10.0 
			 Neath Port Talbot 13.4 
			 Newport 16.0 
			 Pembrokeshire 12.9 
			 Powys 20.2 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff N/a- 
			 Swansea 18.6 
			 Torfaen 10.0 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 15.3 
			 Wrexham 13.4 
			   
			 Totals for England and Wales 3,749.0 
		
	
	Source:
	Data published in September 2002 by Chartered Institute of Public Finance. Some authorities did not submit the relevant information and so no data are shown against these.
	
		Table 2: Showing Trading Standards Staff at March 2002—Scotland
		
			 Local authority Number of staff Number of current vacancies 
		
		
			 Large   
			 Aberdeen City 18.1 1.0 
			 Aberdeenshire 21.2 6.0 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 19.0 0.0 
			 Edinburgh, City of 31.5 4.0 
			 Fife 50.0 6.0 
			 Glasgow City 57.5 2.0 
			 Highland 25.5 1.0 
			 North Lanarkshire 38.0 2.0 
			 South Ayrshire 21.0 10.0 
			 South Lanarkshire 32.8 0.0 
			 Medium   
			 Angus 10.0 4.0 
			 Argyll and Bute 11.0 0.0 
			 Dundee City 16.0 0.0 
			 East Ayrshire 14.0 0.0 
			 Inverclyde 12.5 2.0 
			 Moray 9.0 2.0 
			 North Ayrshire 13.0 0.0 
			 Perth and Kinross 11.0 2.0 
			 Renfrewshire 13.0 6.0 
			 Scottish Borders 12.0 0.0 
			 West Dunbartonshire 14.5 3.0 
			 West Lothian 10.0 0.0 
			 Small   
			 Clackmannanshire 3.0 0.0 
			 East Dunbartonshire 7.3 2.0 
			 East Lothian 6.0 0.0 
			 East Renfrewshire 5.6 0.0 
			 Eilean Star 2.5 0.0 
			 Falkirk 7.0 0.0 
			 Midlothian 4.5 0.0 
			 Orkney Islands 3.5 0.0 
			 Shetland Islands 4.0 0.0 
			 Stirling 7.6 0.0 
			 Total 511.6 53 
		
	
	Source:
	Accounts Commission report "Made to Measure?" published in October 2002

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Level 2 and 3 Qualifications

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of (a) level 2 and (b) level 3 qualifications were achieved in (i) schools and (ii) further education and sixth form colleges in the last year for which figures are available.

David Miliband: The following table shows awards made at levels 2 and 3 during the 2000–01 academic year. It aggregates data from two sources: academic awards data from the secondary school and college performance tables database and vocational awards data from National Information System for Vocational Qualifications (NISVQ) 1 . Awards coverage is limited to England only.
	
		Number of awards and proportion by centre type
		
			 Centre type Level 2 Percentage Level 3 Percentage 
		
		
			 School 321,868 51 205,317 43 
			 FE College/ Tertiary College(13) 160,104 25 147,000 31 
			 Sixth Form College 4,978 1 60,437 13 
			 Other(14) 141,660 23 63,711 13 
			 Total 628,610 — 476,465 — 
		
	
	(12) NISVQ received information on around 92 per cent. of all NVQs/SVQs awarded in 2000–01.
	(13) Includes Adult Education data.
	(14) Institutes classified as "other" include: university or other higher education centre, private training provider, local government/central government/NHS, employer, HM prison/youth offenders institution and armed forces.
	Source
	Secondary school and college performance tables database and NISVQ

Academic Staff Morale

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received on the level of academic wages;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the report by the Association of University Teachers on the levels of morale and motivation among academic staff; and what steps he is taking to contract people to the academic profession.

Margaret Hodge: We have received several representations from individuals and representative bodies on a number of higher education matters, including academic pay. While pay levels are a matter for negotiation between employers and staff, the Government are concerned that higher education institutions should be able to recruit, retain and reward the high quality staff they need. That is why we announced in the recent White Paper that spending on higher education will rise from a total of £7.5 billion in 2002–03 to almost £10 billion in 2005–06. This includes £50 million in 2004–05 and £117 million in 2005–06 in addition to the total of £330 million for the three years up to 2003–04 specifically to help with the recruitment, retention and reward of all staff and, in particular, to value and reward good teachers. It also includes 'golden hellos' for 1,000 new lecturers in shortage subjects worth £9,000 over three years' service. We are also introducing a range of measures to raise the status of teaching in higher education. New professional standards will be agreed by 2004–05 and from 2006 all new teaching staff will be expected to have a teaching competence which meets the standards. Centres of Excellence in teaching will be established to reward good teaching at departmental level and to promote best practice, and the current National Teaching Fellowships Scheme will be increased in size to offer substantial rewards to twice as many outstanding teachers. The Government also support the proposed new teaching quality Academy being set up by the HE sector and considers that the Academy will play a major role in supporting and developing the profession of teaching.

Bullying

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures he is taking to help reduce the incidence of bullying in schools.

Ivan Lewis: We attach a high priority to helping schools prevent and combat bullying, and ensuring that the pupils report bullying when it happens. In 1999 we introduced a statutory requirement on schools to frame anti-bullying policies, in consultation with the school community. We supported that with a guidance pack for schools entitled 'Bullying: don't suffer in silence' with an accompanying video aimed at pupils, which was updated and relaunched in September 2002. We have developed a linked website at www.dfes.qov.uk/bullying, and funded the ChildLine programme of research into children and young people's views on bullying and how to tackle it.
	I will set out our new plans for training and support for schools, and increased accountability, when the results of that research are launched on 25 March.

Bullying

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to ensure that schools have at least one member of staff qualified to deal with bullying in school.

Ivan Lewis: A school is required by law to have a written anti-bullying policy, which should be consistently implemented whenever bullying is reported. We have produced a guidance pack for schools to help them discharge this responsibility. Additional LEA support, guidance and training on behaviour and attendance issues, including bullying, will be available to all secondary schools from the autumn term. It is for schools to decide which individuals have the main responsibility for drawing up and managing the bullying policy, and for dealing with specific cases, and for ensuring that those concerned have the necessary knowledge and skills.

Bullying

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures he is taking to help staff work with parents to tackle bullying (a) in school and (b) outside school hours.

Ivan Lewis: Schools should work closely with parents in tackling bullying, both when updating the school's anti-bullying policy and when investigating specific complaints. This will enable parents to play their part, with school support, in tackling bullying outside school hours and outside school premises. Our anti-bullying pack 'Bullying: don't suffer in silence' offers practical advice on how schools should communicate both with the parents of victims and with the parents of alleged bullies. Additional support, guidance and training to be made available to all secondary schools from the autumn term will reinforce these messages.

Business Forms

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the forms that his Department requires private sector businesses to complete and return.

Stephen Twigg: This Department does not require private sector businesses to complete and return any forms. For the last full survey year, April 2001– March 2002, we carried out seven surveys involving private sector businesses. All these surveys were voluntary in nature. Of the seven surveys, six were telephone surveys and one involved face to face interviews.

Business Partnerships

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment has been made by learning and skills councils of the number of further education colleges with business partnerships; what proportion of colleges this represents; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) does not count the number of FE colleges with business partnerships. We are going to receive "employer engagement" as part of delivery contracts.
	However, many FE colleges have already developed effective business partnerships, most recently through the creation of Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE), which are focused on meeting the skills needs of employers. Currently 137 FE colleges in England have a CoVE, including three CoVEs in the Bedfordshire & Luton LSC area. By March 2006 we will have created 400 CoVEs nationally.
	From April local Strategic Area Reviews will be used in part to assess the links FE colleges have with employers and to ensure that the pattern of provision matches local skill needs.
	From August, colleges will agree three year development plans with their local LSC. Funding for the sector will be allocated in return for each college meeting key headline targets, including targets for employer engagement. The targets will be specific to the mission and role each college will play in responding to local skill needs.

Child Care

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many (a) day nurseries, (b) childminders and (c) out of school clubs there were in England on (i) 31 March 2002 and (ii) 31 March 2001;
	(2)  when the Government will publish official statistics for the number of (a) day nurseries, (b) childminders and (c) out of school clubs in England on 31 March 2002.

Maria Eagle: The available information is shown in the table.
	
		Number of day care providers by type(15)England
		
			 Position at 31 March 2001 Number 
		
		
			 Day nurseries(16) 7,800 
			 Registered childminders(16) 72,300 
			 Out of school clubs(17) 4,900 
		
	
	(15) Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
	(16) Day nurseries and childminders provide care for children under eight years of age.
	(17) Out of school clubs provide care for five to seven year old children.
	The latest figures on Children's Day Care Facilities in England were published by the Department in the Statistical Bulletin 08/01 "Children's Day Care Facilities at 31 March 2001" in October 2001, for the position at March 2001. Responsibility for the registration of day care facilities for children under eight was transferred from local authorities to OFSTED in September 2001. Figures for the position at March 2002 will not be available before OFSTED completes the compilation of its register of childcare providers, after March 2003.

Child Care

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate how much it would cost to extend childcare centres to cover 30 per cent. of the most disadvantaged communities.

Maria Eagle: The Government's long-term aim is that all children living in the 20 per cent. most disadvantaged wards have access to children's centre services. By March 2006 we plan to reach at least 650,000 of these children—around two-thirds of those living in the 20 per cent. most disadvantaged wards—and to create nearly 43,000 extra childcare places for them. We are investing some £435 million over the next three years to meet these targets. In many cases children's centres will be developed from existing provision, such as Sure Start local programmes and Neighbourhood Nurseries, building on their success.
	We cannot currently estimate costs for extending reach beyond the planned 650,000 children until we have a better understanding of the different costs involved in establishing children's centres.

Dyslexic Children

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of (a) pre-school, (b) primary, (c) secondary, (d) further education and (e) higher education pupils who have been diagnosed with dyslexia in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much money was allocated for support of school-age children in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools who were diagnosed as being dyslexic, in each London borough, in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: Information on the number of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) is collected from schools in January each year, via the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census. However, the data collected are not broken down by different categories of SEN, such as dyslexia. Currently, therefore, it is not possible to offer a realistic estimate of the number of children with dyslexia.
	In June 2001, the Department carried out a pilot study involving a sample of 200 mainstream and special schools to assess whether it would be possible to collect data from schools on a broad range of types of SEN. Following that study, it is proposed that from 2004, schools and local education authorities will be required to provide information on a range of SEN, including specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia. It is expected that maintained nursery provision will be covered by the requirement as well as primary, secondary and special schools.
	Based on information taken from the individualised student records, as collected by the Learning Skills Council for the academic year 2000–01, the only year for which full data are available, there were 20,400 students in further education colleges in England indicating their main learning difficulty as dyslexia.
	Information collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, based on the student's own self-assessment, indicates the number of students with dyslexia in higher education as being:
	
		
			  
		
		
			 1996–97 10,190 
			 1997–98 13,000 
			 1998–99 16,080 
			 1999–2000 20,730 
			 2000–01 26,490 
		
	
	Note:
	Student numbers rounded to the nearest 10
	Funding allocated to local education authorities under Education Formula Spending is not broken down between different categories of education spending, or for different types of SEN.

Education Spending

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the expenditure per full-time equivalent pupil in English local education authority maintained (a) pre-primary, (b) primary and (c) secondary schools in 2002–03, broken down by authority.

David Miliband: The information requested is not due to be collected by the Department until September 2003. I will write to the hon. Member once this information becomes available.

Further Education Colleges

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students aged 19 or under are studying in further education colleges for qualification at (a) level 1, (b) level 2, (c) level 3 and (d) level 4 or above in each of the Learning and Skills Council areas.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. John Harwood, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Higher Education

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the 18–24 age cohort participation in higher education rate was in each region and nation of the UK in (a) 1992, (b) 1997 and (c) 2002.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 24 February 2003
	The Department does not calculate HE participation rates specifically for 18–24 age cohorts.
	The Age Participation Index (API) covers HE participation in full-time undergraduate study below the age of 21. The API is not calculated at regional level and the available national figures are given in the table. A higher proportion of young people from Scotland and Northern Ireland enter HE than from England and Wales. This is due largely to high levels of participation in sub-degree level HE courses in these countries.
	
		Age Participation Index (API)(18) by country (percentages)
		
			 Country 1992–93 1997–98 2002–03 
		
		
			 England 26 32 (19)— 
			 Wales 29 32 (19)— 
			 Scotland 32 46 (19)— 
			 Northern Ireland 32 44 (19)— 
			 Great Britain 28 33 (19)— 
		
	
	(18) The API is defined as the number of initial entrants to full-time and sandwich undergraduate HE aged under 21, expressed as a percentage of the average number of 18 and 19-year-olds in the population. These figures may differ from the individual countries' own APIs, which are derived on a slightly different basis.
	(19) Not available.
	A more complete measure of HE participation, the Initial Entry Rate (IER), has been calculated for England since 1999–2000. The IER gives the proportion of young English people entering full or part time HE by the age of 30 and a provisional estimate for 2001–02 is 43 per cent.

Internal Flights (Ministers)

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list internal flights made by Ministers in his Department in 2002, including in each case the (a) cost, (b) departure location and (c) destination; and of these how many were (i) first class, (ii) business class and (iii) economy class.

Stephen Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W, in response to a request for information from the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) about the cost of UK travel by Ministers. I also refer the hon. Member to a related answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State about UK flights he has undertaken, 20 February 2003, Official Report, column 163W.

Maintained Nurseries

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to (a) protect and (b) extend the role of existing maintained nurseries.

Maria Eagle: The Department is now consulting on proposals for guidance to School Organisation Committees (SOCs). The guidance will include a presumption against closure of Maintained Nursery Schools. The new guidance is expected to come into force in June 2003.
	We are actively encouraging Maintained Nursery Schools to develop and extend their services. The nursery school development grant and the forum for Maintained Nursery Schools are key drivers for supporting this. Some Local Authorities will be considering how Maintained Nursery Schools might be involved with the children's centres programme.
	Statutory governance for Maintained Nursery Schools which comes into force in September 2003 will put them on an equivalent footing to schools and grant them similar discretion. The devolved budgets which Maintained Nursery Schools will have from April 2004 will also afford increased autonomy and opportunity.

Secondary Schools

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the methodology used to construct value added scores for secondary schools.

David Miliband: Two value added measures are calculated for secondary schools; Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 3 to GCES/GNVQ. We aim to pilot a measure of value added between Key Stage 2 and GCSE/GNVQ in 2003 prior to full publication in 2004. The methodology used to calculate the value added measures for secondary schools is fully explained in the Value Added Technical Annex of the 2002 Performance Tables booklets, copies of which have been placed in the Library. The document can also be accessed on the performance tables website at www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetables.

Sure Start

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Sure Start programmes have been approved which are (a) community partnership and (b) voluntary sector-led.

Maria Eagle: To date, three Sure Start Partnerships have been approved which have a community partnership as their accountable body and 25 programmes have been approved which have a voluntary sector organisation as their accountable body.

Sure Start

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that Sure Start units have a manager with an early years teaching qualification; which senior members of staff within each Sure Start unit will have to have specialist early years teaching qualification; and whether all sure start units will (a) have at least one qualified teacher and (b) be supported by a qualified nursery nurse.

Maria Eagle: Sure Start local programmes deliver a wide range of services including health, family support, and childcare. Programme managers are recruited from a range of relevant backgrounds but above all must have strong leadership and management skills.
	The new Children's centres which we are introducing from this year will provide integrated care and education for young children, health services, family support, and a base for childminders. As with Sure Start local programmes, it will be more important for the managers of these centres to have the leadership and other skills to manage a multi-disciplinary team than to have a qualification in any specific professional area.
	Children's centres will be required to have strong support for the teaching and learning offered. The initial guidance issued in February says that this should be secured through either the employment of qualified teachers or developed from a base of significant input from teachers in an advisory role. Full guidance will be published in June 2003.

Teacher Recruitment (Havering)

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria are used in defining a local authority area as high cost for teacher recruitment purposes; and for what reasons Havering does not qualify as a high cost area.

David Miliband: The area cost adjustment in Education Formula Spending is based on average wage costs in an area rather than on the direct costs of teachers. Havering is grouped with other boroughs to the east of Inner London where average wage costs are lower than they are in Inner London itself or to the west of Inner London. The amount of area cost adjustment received by Havering and other east London boroughs is substantially more than the cost of London Weighting payments to teachers and other staff.

Tuition Fees

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students paid (a) full, (b) partial and (c) no tuition fees who were normally resident in (i) England and Wales, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) the EU; and how many paid overseas student fees in each year since 1999 at the Universities of (A) Newcastle and (B) Northumbria at Newcastle.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the requested format.
	In England and Wales students on full-time undergraduate courses and their families are expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their tuition only if they can afford to do so.
	The percentage of students in England and Wales in academic years 1999–2000 and 2000–01 (latest year for which data are available) who have been assessed to make a nil, partial or full contribution towards the cost of their tuition is shown in the table:
	
		Percentage
		
			  All students(20) 
			  1999–2000 2000–01(21) 
		
		
			 Nil contribution towards the cost of tuition from student/parents/spouse/partner 45 42 
			 Partial contribution towards the cost of tuition from student/parents/spouse/partner 20 19 
			 Full contribution towards the cost of tuition from student/parents/spouse/partner 35 39 
		
	
	(20) Contributions towards the cost of tuition are assessed by local education authorities in England and Wales for students normally domiciled in their area and studying in the UK.
	(21) 2000–01 data are provisional.
	Source
	F503G survey of local education authorities
	National level data are published annually in the Department's Statistical First Releases (SFRs) (SFR 18/2001 and SFR 08/2002 for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively). National data for academic year 2001–02 will be available at the end of April 2003.
	The devolved administrations for Scotland and Northern Ireland are responsible for the administration of tuition fees in their countries.
	The level of contribution towards tuition for EU and overseas students is not held centrally.

Tuition Fees

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of English students resident in each government office region were paying (a) full, (b) partial and (c) no tuition fees in (i) 1999–2000 and (ii) 2000–01.

Margaret Hodge: In England and Wales students on full-time undergraduate courses and their families are expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their tuition only if they can afford to do so.
	The percentage of students in England and Wales in academic years 1999–2000 and 2000–01 (latest year for which data are available) who have been assessed to make a full, partial or nil contribution towards the cost of their tuition is shown in the table:
	
		
			  (22)All students (percentage) 
			 Academic Year 1999–2000 (23)2000–01  
		
		
			 Full contribution towards the cost of tuition from student/parents/spouse/partner 35 39 
			 Partial contribution towards the cost of tuition from student/parents/spouse/partner 20 19 
			 Nil contribution towards the cost of tuition from student/parents/spouse/partner 45 42 
		
	
	(22) Contributions towards the cost of tuition are assessed by local education authorities in England and Wales for students normally domiciled in their area and studying in the UK.
	(23) 2000–01 data are provisional.
	Source: F503G survey of local education authorities
	National level data are published in the Department's Statistical First Releases (SFR 18/2001 and SFR 08/2002 for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively). Data are collected from the Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to produce national estimates and the data collection exercise does not allow the production of firm figures below this level, and therefore data by Government Office Region are not available.

Youth Inclusion Programme Areas

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the rates of (a) truancy and (b) school exclusions were in each of the Youth Inclusion Programme areas in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, and (iv) 2002.

Ivan Lewis: Aggregated data on exclusions and truancy are collected at school and LEA level. Youth Inclusion Programmes involve specific individuals and not whole schools or areas. Limited data have been kept on the individuals involved, which will be published in the programme's evaluation report covering the first three years of operation and will be available on the Youth Justice Board's website from 28 March.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Age Discrimination

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce legislation to outlaw discrimination against people on the grounds of age.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 18 March 2003, Official Report, columns 650–51W (96852).

Care Services (Complaints)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints have been lodged in relation to (a) nursing and (b) residential homes in Northern Ireland in (i) the public sector and (ii) the private sector in the last three years.

Des Browne: There are no nursing homes run by the statutory sector in Northern Ireland. The following table sets out the number of complaints made against residential and nursing homes for the years 1999–2000; 2000–01 and 2001–02, the most recent figures available.
	
		
			  Total number of complaints Number in public sector Number in private sector Percentage in nursing homes Percentage in residential homes 
		
		
			 1999–2000 234 18 216 82 18 
			 2000–01 222 25 197 83 17 
			 2001–02 195 4 191 81 19

Financial Priorities

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been allocated for the financial year 2003–04 for the (a) Assets Recovery Agency, (b) Organised Crime Taskforce and (c) Police Ombudsman; and what criteria were used to determine the financial priority given to each organisation.

Paul Murphy: The information is as follows:
	(a) Assets Recovery Agency
	The annual budget for the Assets Recovery Agency is allocated by the Home Office. The final budget for 2003–04 is under discussion but will be between £10 million and £15 million. The budget for the Northern Ireland Branch of the ARA is allocated from this at the discretion of the Director. The Director has made it clear that the Agency will function as a whole and where a specific case in Northern Ireland demands extra support, this will be provided by staff resources based in London.
	Staff in London will also provide many support services for the branch in Northern Ireland leaving the team free to focus on investigations.
	(b) Organised Crime Task Force
	With the exception of a publicity budget of £50,000 to meet the cost of publishing the annual OCTF Threat Assessment and Strategy Documents and to promote the role of the OCTF and operational successes of partner agencies throughout 2003–04, no specific funding has been allocated to the Organised Crime Task Force. Individual constituent members of the OCTF are responsible for funding their involvement from within their overall organisational budgets. Costs for administrating the OCTF will be met from the overall resources allocated to the Security Policy and Operations Division of the Northern Ireland Office.
	(c) Police Ombudsman
	The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has been allocated funding of £7.38 million in the financial year 2003–04.
	In determining the financial priority for the Police Ombudsman's office, the budget allocation for 2003–04 was based on a submission to the NIO by the Ombudsman in relation to the 2002 Spending Review, which requested appropriate funding to allow the Ombudsman's Office to meet it's statutory duties based on anticipated workload.

Further Education

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when investigations as part of the Review of Further Education Strategy on the economic contribution of the sector 'Widening social access and student satisfaction' will be completed.

Jane Kennedy: The investigations on the economic contribution of the sector will be completed in April 2003. The exercises on widening access and student satisfaction will be completed in early May.

Higher Education

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the number of 18-year-olds from Northern Ireland going on to higher education (a) in Northern Ireland and (b) in Great Britain since 1 April 1998.

Jane Kennedy: The following table provides details of the number of NI domiciled 18-year-olds enrolled on higher education courses in the UK by location of study and academic year.
	
		
			 Academic year NI institutions GB institutions 
		
		
			 1997–98 4,908 2,176 
			 1998–99 5,052 2,069 
			 1999–2000 5,439 1,847 
			 2000–01 5,704 1,688 
			 2001–02 5,929 1,684

Hillsborough Talks

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on talks in the week beginning on 3 March in Hillsborough Castle.

Paul Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael) on 12 March 2003, Official Report, column 277.

Hospitality

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his Department's hospitality budget (a) is in 2002–03 and (b) was in each of the last three years; and how much was left unspent at the end of each financial year.

Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office budget for hospitality in 2002–03 and in previous three years inclusive of amounts overspent/unspent is listed as follows:
	2002–03: £362,000
	2001–02: £339,000 (£97,240 not spent)
	2000–01: £273,000 (overspent by £13,442)
	1999–2000: £419,000 (£75,211 not spent).
	The figures for the NIO are inclusive of its agencies, but excluding NDPBs.
	Within the Northern Ireland Administration Departments are not required to establish a separate budget for hospitality. Payments for approved hospitality are generally made from a budget allocated to general administrative expenditure, and in line with the principles and guidelines set out in Government Accounting Northern Ireland (GANI). The information requested is not held in the required format, therefore the information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Industrial Action/Illness

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many working days have been lost in his Department owing to (a) illness and (b) industrial action in each year since 1997–98.

Paul Murphy: Sick absence statistics for the Northern Ireland Civil Servants and the Home Civil Servants in the Northern Ireland Office are recorded separately. Figures for Home Civil Servants within the NIO are not available in the required format. The information available is as follows:
	
		
			  Days sick absence per staff year 
		
		
			 1998 6.5 
			 1999 8.0 
			 2000 9.3 
			 2001 10.0 
		
	
	Sick absence statistics for NICS staff in the Northern Ireland Office are analysed by financial year as opposed to calendar year.
	The number of working days lost by NICS staff in the Northern Ireland Office due to illness was 16,394 during 2000–01. Comparable figures are not available for earlier years. The figure for 2001–02 will be available shortly.
	The sick absence statistics for 2001–02 for HCS and NICS staff are to be available in the near future.
	The Northern Ireland Office is committed to managing sickness absence effectively and a range of corporate and departmental initiatives have been and are being taken forward to reduce the current levels of sickness absence.
	No days have been lost in the Northern Ireland Office due to industrial action.
	In the Northern Ireland Administration Departments sick absence statistics are analysed by financial year. The information sought is only readily available for the period 1999–2000 to 2001–02. Published statistics for Northern Ireland Departments for the financial years 2000–01 and 2001–02 are accessible on the Department's website at www.dfpni.gov.uk/publications.
	The number of working days lost by NI Administration Departments due to illness was as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Total number of working days lost 
		
		
			 1999–2000 315,105 
			 2000–01 319,790 
			 2001–02 335,720 
		
	
	Due to the reorganisation of Departments following devolution, the 1999–2000 absence details were analysed according to the Department in which staff were employed at the end of the 1999–2000 financial year. As such the year on year comparisons are not entirely comparable.
	The number of working days lost by Northern Ireland Administration Departments due to industrial action was as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Total number of working days lost 
		
		
			 1997–1998 1,151½  
			 1998–1999 441 
			 1999–2000 0 
			 2000–01 0 
			 2001–02 634½  
		
	
	Note:
	The figures are not available for one NI Department (Health, Social Services and Public Safety) as it cannot be disaggregated from other forms of unpaid leave.

Insurance Premium Increases

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of increased insurance premiums on Northern Ireland's small and medium businesses.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to question 99321. Given the extensive survey already conducted by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment into this issue and a recent survey published by the Federation of Small Businesses in Northern Ireland, which shows similar results, a further review is not proposed at this time.

Link Funding

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding has been allocated in each of the last three years to each of the schools and colleges in the Western Education and Library Board for the provision of link courses; why such funding has been withdrawn; and if he will postpone the scrapping of link funding until the common formula for funding schools has been introduced.

Jane Kennedy: The Department of Education (DE) provides no separate funding to schools for the provision of link courses. Pupils on such provision are counted for each school's funding under the Local Management of Schools (LMS) arrangements.
	Schools in the WELB area have been receiving all of their link course provision free while schools in all other ELB areas have paid a fee. The amount paid is a matter for agreement between colleges and schools. The inconsistency has arisen because a separate earmarked fund, resulting from a pre-FE Incorporation WELB initiative for link provision, was provided to colleges in the WELB.
	In addition to this funding the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) provides funding through the further education funding formula to assist all colleges to provide and develop suitable link courses. The DEL funding is not provided as a substitute or replacement for any element of DE funding and schools should, therefore, meet the appropriate costs of colleges running link courses for their pupils.
	Making separate earmarked funding available to assist schools and colleges in one area of Northern Ireland is inconsistent with the key principle of equity. Consequently, in the interests of commonality and equity, I have decided to make the arrangements for link course provision the same across Northern Ireland and the separate funding for WELB colleges will be withdrawn from September 2003.

Midwives

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals are (a) eligible to register, (b) registered and (c) practising as midwives.

Des Browne: We do not have statistical information about the number of people in Northern Ireland who have midwifery qualifications but are not currently registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. At present there are 1,437 midwives registered with the NMC. As at 30 September 2002 there were 1,249 practising midwives.

Soccer

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding was provided by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure to the task force which was established for soccer in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) provided no funding to the task force which was established as part of the Soccer Strategy initiative. However, between October 2000 and February 2003, DCAL incurred direct costs amounting to £133,600 on the Soccer Strategy process as a whole. This figure includes support services provided by the Department to the task force.

Soccer

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what time was invested by the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure in the soccer strategy.

Angela Smith: It is not possible to quantify the amount of time invested by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) on the soccer strategy process. However, the soccer strategy is recognised as an important initiative to which DCAL has allocated appropriate resources while also ensuring that sufficient attention continues to be devoted by the Department to its other important sporting priorities.

Student Debt

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on levels of student debt in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: The current average annual amount of student loan borrowed by Northern Ireland students is £2,784. The introduction of non-repayable bursaries of up to £1,500 a year for students from low-income families from September 2002, with a commensurate reduction in the student loan is aimed at reducing the amount of debt which students would accumulate. The maximum bursary is to be increased to £2,000 from September 2003.

Terrorism

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the nature and level of the present threat from dissident republican terrorists in border regions of Northern Ireland; and what criteria are employed when (a) closing military bases and (b) ceasing military operations in those areas.

Jane Kennedy: Dissident republicans currently remain a threat to the peace process although most of their activities have been thwarted, intercepted or nullified by the security forces. Dissidents have been responsible for two attacks in border areas this year. Their latest attack was on 10 February when a device exploded outside Enniskillen Town Hall. Any decisions on adjustments to the security profile are taken on the advice of the Chief Constable in consultation with the GOC.

Vehicle Fleets

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the annual rate is at which his Department renews its vehicle fleet, by (a) volume and percentage for each category of vehicle, (b) type of power unit and (c) type of fuel, and what progress has been made in replacing vehicles on a lower emissions basis in each of the last three years.

Paul Murphy: For the Northern Ireland Office the information is not held in the format requested. The following table shows the number of vehicles disposed of or purchased by the Northern Ireland Office during the 2001–02 financial year by category. Figures for Agencies and NDPBs are not included as these are not held centrally.
	
		
			  Cars Other vehicles 
		
		
			 Total number of vehicles at 31 March 2001 17 4 
			 Petrol 16  
			 Diesel 1 4 
			 Other 0 0 
			
			 Total number disposed in 2001–02 10 1 
			 Petrol 9  
			 Diesel 1 1 
			 Other 0 0 
			
			 Total number purchased in 2002–03 1 1 
			 Petrol 1 1 
			 Diesel 0 0 
			 Other 0 0 
			
			 Total number leased at 31 March 2001 9 0 
			 Petrol 8 0 
			 Diesel 1 0 
			 Other 0 0 
		
	
	Vehicles are selected and purchased on their ability to meet particular needs.
	Consideration will be given to leasing lower emission vehicles for despatch services when they next fall to be changed.
	Within the Northern Ireland Administration the information is not held in the format requested. The following table shows information on the number of vehicles disposed of or purchased by the Northern Ireland Administration during the 2001–02 financial year by category. Figures for Agencies and NDPBs are not included as these are not held centrally.
	
		
			  Cars Other vehicles 
		
		
			 Total number of vehicles at 31 March 2001 35 204 
			 Petrol 11 15 
			 Diesel 24 189 
			 Other  
			 Total number disposed in 2001–02   
			 Petrol 2 4 
			 Diesel  8 
			 Other   
			   
			 Total number purchased in 2001–02   
			 Petrol 13  
			 Diesel 2 20 
			 Other   
		
	
	Although the Northern Ireland Administration has no central policy on the replacement of vehicles on a lower emission basis, lowering the level of emissions is an important consideration when replacing the cars.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Child Obesity

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures her Department is taking to reduce the incidence of clinical obesity in children, broken down by type of obesity; and how much her Department has spent on such measures in the last five years.

Richard Caborn: The Government's Game Plan report recommends that participation needs to rise across the population and targets young people as a priority group. The Government plan to invest £459 million over the next three years in PE and sport in schools to increase youth participation and help combat obesity. Over the last five years £150,624,745 has been distributed by Sport England in community revenue Lottery awards targeted at young people. Initiatives to increase physical activity are not broken down by impact on type of obesity.

National Lottery

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what grants have been given to Chorley constituency in each of the last five years; and for what purpose.

Richard Caborn: The Department does not make grants directly and we do not hold central information on other grants given by our non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs).
	According to the information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the National Lottery awards database, there have been the following awards to the Chorley constituency:
	
		
			 Calendar Year Amount (£) Awards 
		
		
			 1997 41,445.00 8 
			 1998 694,695.00 6 
			 1999 519,928.00 22 
			 2000 655,272.00 35 
			 2001 2,825,727.00 35 
		
	
	The grants are used to improve the quality of life for all through cultural and sporting activities, and to champion the creative and leisure industries.

Youth Sports

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many youth sports teams there were in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) age group of team members and (b) sport.

Richard Caborn: This information is not collected centrally.

Youth Sports

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department has spent on support for youth sports (a) teams, (b) training and (c) organisations; and what other expenditure her Department has made on support for youth sports in the last 10 years.

Richard Caborn: The information is not available in the form requested.
	The Government announced in October 2002 that it was investing £459 million in physical education, school sport and club links in the years 2003–04 to 2005–06 as follows:
	£115 million to maintain and expand the network of specialist sports colleges.
	£224 million to expand the network of school sport co-ordinators (plus £20 million in 2001–02 and 2002–03).
	£12 million to expand the Step into Sport programme (£3 million in 2002–03).
	£60 million for the Community Club Development programme.
	£10 million for Sporting Playgrounds.
	£28 million for coaching.
	£10 million for club and talent development.
	Sport England has also allocated the following Lottery funding to programmes and projects that specifically benefit young people:
	£75.5 million for Active Sports Programme.
	£24 million for School Sport Co-ordinators.
	£23 million for Awards for All

TRANSPORT

Radars

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the two new radars for the London zone.

David Jamieson: The additional funding secured earlier this week will allow National Air Traffic Services Ltd. to carry through a major 10-year investment programme that will include the renewal and upgrading of all NATS' radar facilities in the UK.

Air Safety

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Civil Aviation Authority have taken to ensure that (a) aerodrome operators and (b) air traffic service providers have the required expertise and resources to undertake (i) aerodrome safeguarding and (ii) design of instrument approach procedures.

David Jamieson: In preparation for the transfer of responsibility for aerodrome safeguarding, the Civil Aviation Authority has run training and refresher courses for airport operators and their air traffic control providers, and has encouraged them to build up their expertise through active involvement in the safeguarding process. It has published new safeguarding maps, a guidance document, technical advice notes and an information leaflet, and has made its database of safeguarding cases available to the operators. As part of its regulatory function it will conduct periodic audits of the safeguarding procedures and cases at individual airports.
	Air traffic services providers have always performed the safeguarding of facilities and services within their interest (i.e. technical sites) and continue to do so.
	To date the CAA has not taken any formal action to transfer responsibility for the design of instrument approach procedures, other than initiating consultation on a proposal. The recently issued "Regulatory Impact Assessment For The Purpose To Amend The Air Navigation Order 2000 To Permit The Transfer Of Instrument Flight Procedure Design To Industry" outlines a list of potential requirements for third party designers against which the CAA would assess an individual's or an organisation's competence to engage in the task of instrument approach procedure design.

Award Schemes

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the award schemes in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002 promoted by the Department; what their scope was; when the relevant participating organisations are scheduled to be sent results; and whether other parties will be given notification of the results at the same time.

David Jamieson: The Secretary of State sponsors the following awards.
	Local Transport—Centres of Excellence initiative:
	In March 2001, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions designated 16 English local authorities, or groups of local authorities, as Centres of Excellence for Local Transport Planning. This followed a competitive process, in which the Department, with the help of independent experts, assessed bidders on the quality of their Local Transport Plans, their target-setting and monitoring abilities, and their willingness to share experience and good practice with others. All bidders were notified of the results at the same time. In a separate initiative, Cornwall county council was designated a Centre of Excellence for Rural Transport, also in March 2001. There were no additional Centre of Excellence designations during 2001 or 2002. The Department for Transport now has responsibility for both schemes.
	Secure Station Scheme:
	The Secure Stations Scheme was launched in April 1998. The scheme awards Secure Stations status and certification to those stations that reach specified standards in crime management, station design, station management and passenger perceptions. The award is for a two year period, after which the station can apply for reaccreditation. During 2001, 60 stations were awarded either accreditation or reaccreditation; during 2002, the figure was 76. There are currently 170 stations (both mainline and underground) accredited under the Scheme. The Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards:
	The Department is one of many partners ranging from national Governments to consumer and motoring groups involved in Euro New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP). This is an independent organisation that carries out crash tests of new cars and then publishes the results. The test programme is carried out in phases and the results are published by Euro NCAP twice a year. The cars tested are awarded between 1 to 5 stars, indicating the level of crash protection offered.
	The Department contributes to the Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards, run by the Prince Michael Trust. The Department comments on candidates for awards in its capacity as a member of the Prince Michael Road Safety Advisory Board.

Consultation Exercise

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 298W, to the hon. Member for Dagenham (Jon Cruddas), if he will list the bodies being consulted as part of his review of the 1999 SACTRA report on Transport and the Environment.

David Jamieson: No formal review of the SACTRA report has been carried out. The Government accepted many of the recommendations of the SACTRA report as set out in the Government's Response to the SACTRA Report on "Transport and the Economy", May 2000 Cm 4711.

Crewe-Kidsgrove Rail Route

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of the electrification of the Crewe-Kidsgrove rail route.

David Jamieson: The electrification of the Crewe-Kidsgrove route was included in the Strategic Rail Authority's draft 'West Coast Strategy' consultation document as a possible enhancement element. The Authority's broad estimate is that the overhead line installation and signalling works to allow electric trains to operate would be in the region of £12 million. The final Strategy will be published shortly.

Dartford Crossing (Tolls)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what projects net tax income from the Dartford crossing on the M25 will be spent in 2003–04.

David Jamieson: The Dartford net revenues form part of the funding included in our 10 year transport plan. After actual revenues have been received we shall be able to identify projects which will illustrate the benefits this additional source of funding has helped deliver.

Dartford Crossing (Tolls)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the economic cost of delays which will be occasioned to traffic in 2003–04 by means of having to pay tolls at the Dartford crossing on the M25.

David Jamieson: The principal cause of delays at the Dartford crossing is the capacity of the crossing and the surrounding network. Research published in August 2001 suggested that use of the Dartford crossing would grow more rapidly if there were no charge to use the crossing. Using 1997 as a base year the forecast was that traffic would be 17.6 per cent. higher in 2003 if there was no charge, compared to the situation if charging was maintained at the same level.
	A significant increase in the level of traffic could have an adverse impact on the local community and users of the crossing in terms of health, the economy and the environment.

Dartford Crossing (Tolls)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the forecast gross toll revenue is from the Dartford crossing on the M25 for 2003–04; and what the forecast cost is of collecting the tolls in 2003–04.

David Jamieson: The forecast gross revenue from road user charging at the Dartford crossing for 2003–04 is approximately £66 million.
	The management fee for 2003–04 to be paid to 'Le Crossing', who have been appointed to operate and maintain the crossing including collection of the user charge, is forecast to be approximately £16 million.

First Great Western

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with First Great Western over its decision to declare void days regarding compensation because of poor performance.

David Jamieson: None. Under the terms of their Passenger's Charters train operating companies are allowed to declare void days when performance is particularly poor. This results in the holders of monthly or longer duration season tickets, receiving compensation to the value of a day's travel.

M6

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive the report from the Highways Agency on the proposed improvement of Junction 20 of the M6; and if he will publish the report.

David Jamieson: The Secretary of State is currently considering options for the possible improvement of M6 junction 20 and to the A556.

Railways

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the latest performance figures on the railways, with particular reference to punctuality; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The figures published by the Strategic Rail Authority on 12 March show that overall performance between October and December 2002 was about one percentage point better than for the equivalent period of the previous year. The Strategic Rail Authority is taking tough decisions designed to deliver sustained improvements in performance over time.

Railways

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who the Strategic Rail Authority consulted on its recent decision to cut direct rail services between Liverpool and (a) Stansted Airport and (b) Portsmouth; and when this consultation took place.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority's decision on the September 2003 timetable changes was made in partnership with Train Operating Companies and Network Rail. The Rail Passenger Committee and Passenger Transport Executive were made aware of the outline proposals before the announcement was made on 24 February.

Railways

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has received from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on plans by Network Rail to close the London Paddington to Reading line on the weekend of 22 to 25 August.

David Jamieson: The management of engineering possessions is a matter for Network Rail, overseen by the Rail Regulator. I understand that Network Rail is consulting with relevant parties, including the passenger and freight train operators, Reading council and the organisers of the Reading Festival, regarding any engineering possession of this line over that weekend.

Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times he has visited Scotland on official duties each year since 2000; and what meetings were held on each occasion.

David Jamieson: The Department was formed on 29 May 2002. Since its formation and up until 31 December 2002 the Secretary of State has carried out official duties on four occasions. He has of course been in Scotland on many other occasions in that time. In accordance with exemptions 2 and 7 of the 'Code of Practice on Access to Government Information', it is not the normal practice of Governments to release details of specific meetings or their content, as some of these discussions may have taken place on a confidential basis.

Trams

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department is sponsoring into the role of trams in a sustainable transport policy.

David Jamieson: None directly. However, all local public transport schemes, including trams, proposed for Government funding are subject to comprehensive appraisal on criteria which include the likely impact of the scheme on the environment, safety, the economy, accessibility and integration. Evaluation of tram schemes is also carried out after their completion.

TREASURY

MRSA

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many recorded deaths there were from MRSA virus in each of the last five years for which records are kept.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Eric Pickles, dated 24 March 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many recorded deaths there were from MRSA in each of the last 5 years for which records are kept. (104349)
	Information on deaths from Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) is not routinely available but a recent research study published in the British Medical Journal identified the number of death certificates that mentioned MRSA as the underlying cause of death or as a contributory cause for the years 1993–1998. The table below gives figures from the study for the 5 years to 1998.
	
		Number of deaths where MRSA was mentioned as the underlying or a contributory cause of death, England and Wales, 1994–1998
		
			  Number 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1994 88 
			 1995 187 
			 1996 290 
			 1997 377 
			 1998 398 
		
	
	The Office for National Statistics is currently in the process of updating this study to cover the period 1999–2001. The results of this analysis will be published later this year.

Unemployment(Inverness, East, Nairn and Lochaber)

David Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the change has been in the level of unemployment in the constituency of Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber since May 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Stewart, dated 24 March 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on what the change has been in the level of unemployment in the constituency of Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber since May 1997.(104572)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from surveys following the international standard International Labour Organisation definition. However the survey sample size is too small to provide estimates for the Inverness East Nairn and Lochaber Parliamentary Constituency.
	ONS also compiles statistics of claimants of the Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) benefit for Parliamentary Constituencies.
	In February 2003, there were K543 claimants of Jobseekers Allowance in the Inverness East and Lochaber Parliamentary Constituency compared with 2,403 in May 1997. This represents a reduction of 860 or 36 per cent. The data are not seasonally adjusted.

Civil Service Travel

John Maples: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what grades in the Civil Service in his Department are allowed to travel by air (a) first class and (b) business class at public expense when on official duties.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury meets the cost of business or club class air tickets for staff flying on official business. Staff may travel first class at official expense only with written permission from the Accounting Officer. No distinction is made by grade.

Computer Misuse

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 10 March (2003), Official Report, column 19W, on computer misuse, how many staff in other agencies of HM Treasury have been (a) dismissed and (b) prosecuted as a result of misuse of its computer systems.

Ruth Kelly: One official in HM Customs and Excise was dismissed for computer misuse in 2001 and three were in 2002. There were three such dismissals from the Office for National Statistics in 2001 and one from the Treasury in 2000. HM Customs and Excise prosecuted one official for computer misuse in 1998 and another in 2002. There were no other dismissals or prosecutions of officials working for the Chancellor's departments and agencies in the period 1998 to 2002.

Departmental Invoices

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the occasions on which (a) his Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department failed to pay valid invoices within 30 days or after the agreed credit period in the financial year 2001–02.

Ruth Kelly: The bodies for which the Chancellor is responsible have made the following percentages of payments within 30 days or within contractual arrangements: HM Treasury 98.7 per cent.; National Investment and Loans Office 100 per cent.; Department of National Savings 99.6 per cent.; Inland Revenue 98.9 per cent.; HM Customs and Excise 97.38 per cent. and Royal Mint 91 per cent. More detailed information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Website

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost of his Department's website was in the last 12 months; and how many hits it received in the same period.

Ruth Kelly: The total cost of the Treasury's website, www.hm-treasury.gov.uk. was £140, 634 for the year ending January 2003. During that period pages from the site were viewed 18 million times.

Entertainment Expenditure

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the total spending of his Department on entertainment in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's hospitality budget (a) is in 2002–03 and (b) was in each of the last three years; and how much was left unspent at the end of each financial year.

Ruth Kelly: Expenditure in the years since 1997–98 is as follows:
	
		£000
		
			  Expenditure 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1997–98 59 
			 1998–99 69 
			 1999–2000 99 
			 2000–01 141 
			 2001–02 100 
			 2002–03(24) 115 
		
	
	(24) April to December
	Figures for earlier years were given in the answer by the then Economic Secretary (Helen Liddell) on 18 November 1997, Official Report, column 110W.
	Treasury internal budgets are controlled in respect of organisational units, not in respect of types of spending. Accordingly there are no binding budget figures comparable to these figures for expenditure.
	All expenditure on official entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting".

Euro

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2003, Official Report, column 991W, on the euro, 
	(1)  what issues have been discussed by Government officials with representatives of (a) Gibraltar and (b) the Isle of Man;
	(2)  which Government officials are responsible for liaison with officials from Jersey; how often meetings occur between Government officials and representatives from Jersey; and whether there are regularly scheduled talks between the two groups.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 11 February 2002, Official Report, columns 104–05W.

Financial Sector Green Paper

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2003, Official Report, column 133W, on the Financial Sector Green Paper, if he will make a statement on the ongoing work undertaken by his Department to strengthen financial sector resilience.

Ruth Kelly: HM Treasury is working with the Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority and the private sector to help strengthen financial sector resilience. More information on this work can be found at their tripartite website: www.financialsectorcontinuity.gov.uk.

Financial Services Authority

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to extend the responsibilities of the Financial Services Authority.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws), on 21 January 2003, Official Report, column 247W.

Inland Revenue

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints officers posts there were at all grades within the establishment of the Inland Revenue on 1 April on each of the last five years; and what the total annual (a) salary and (b) on-cost was in each year.

Dawn Primarolo: For the year to 31 March 2002, 271 staff in the Inland Revenue's Local and National Services offices were dedicated to complaints work at a salary cost of £5.69 million. Other running costs were approximately £540,000.
	Other parts of the Inland Revenue also have staff whose duties include complaints handling. For the year to 31 March 2002 this resource is estimated to be equivalent to 20 full time staff at a salary cost of £600,000 and other running costs are estimated at approximately £40,000.
	The Inland Revenue's network of offices was reorganised in April 2001 and responsibilities for dealing with complaints changed accordingly. Comparable figures for earlier years are not available following the fundamental changes in Inland Revenue structures and organisation.

Low Incomes (Leigh)

Andy Burnham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Leigh were earning less than (a) £4.50, (b) £4.85 and (c) £5.00 per hour and the latest date for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Andy Burnham, dated 24 March 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the number of people in the Leigh parliamentary constituency earning less than £4.50. £4.85 and £5.00 per hour. (104601)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculates estimates of the number of jobs paid below low pay thresholds from £2 to £7 at 10p intervals for the United Kingdom. These data for the years 1998–2002 can be found on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme labour/l Opbands.xls
	Estimates for Parliamentary Constituencies are not available.
	A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles and data can be found on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCl/nugget.asp?ID=188&Pos=44&ColRank=l&Rank=208

Pensions

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Financial Services Authority is able to allow pension providers to continue selling new pension policies that are not based on the parameters set by the Statutory Money Purchase Illustration regulations coming into force on 6 April.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 18 March 2003
	A comprehensive FSA regime is already in place to govern the sale of personal pensions.
	The requirement to provide Statutory Money Purchase Illustrations (SMPI's), for holders of existing contracts, will come into effect from 6 April 2003. These will show what personal pension income may be worth in retirement at today's prices. They are designed to help pension savers determine whether they are saving enough for retirement.
	The SMP1 regulations, and the technical memorandum that informs them, will ensure these illustrations are prepared using standard assumptions.
	Following consultation in April 2002, the FSA has made rules to bring its post-retirement assumptions into line with those in SMPI's.

Saving Gateway

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Saving Gateway scheme.

Ruth Kelly: Pilots for the Saving Gateway, an account designed to provide transparent incentives to save for low-income individuals, were launched in August 2002. The pilots, located in Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Gorton, Hull and Tower Hamlets, end in February 2005 and have been designed to provide a regular stream of information and data. Further development of the Saving Gateway, including the appropriate level of the match rate and the criteria to be used to determine eligibility, will follow in light of evaluation evidence. A statement on the progress of the pilots will be provided in the Budget.

Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times he has visited Scotland on official duties each year since 2000; and what meetings were held on each occasion.

Ruth Kelly: The Chancellor visited Scotland on official duties twice a year in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He has visited Scotland on official duties once so far this year. It would not be appropriate to disclose details of the meetings concerned, as provided for under Exemptions 2 and 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Second Homes

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of (a) the capital investment made by UK residents in second homes overseas and (b) the number of UK residents who have purchased second homes overseas.

Ruth Kelly: These figures are not available.

Self-Employment

Candy Atherton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate has been made of the number of self-employed workers in the UK in the last five years; and what proportion of workers this represents in each year;
	(2)  what estimate has been made of the number of employees in supermarkets who are self- employed.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Ms Atherton, dated 24 March 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about total self-employed people and those working in supermarkets.
	The attached table gives the number and percentage of self-employed people in the United Kingdom for the three month period ending January for each of the last five years. These estimates are from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and are seasonally adjusted.
	Information on the number of self-employed people working in supermarkets is not available.
	
		Self-employed United Kingdom, seasonally adjusted
		
			 November to January Thousand Percentage(25) 
		
		
			 1998–99 3,144 11.7 
			 1999–2000 3,084 11.4 
			 2000–01 3,064 11.2 
			 2001–02 3,078 11.2 
			 2002–03 3,184 11.4 
		
	
	(25) Self employed as a percentage of all in employment
	Note:
	These Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates are Seasonally Adjusted (SA) and have been interim adjusted to take account of the recent Census 2001 results.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey

Sustainable Timber Products

Joan Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how companies are selected by the Office of Government Commerce for the list of Sustainable Timber Products and Supplier Information; how often the list is updated; how companies who would like to supply such products to Government can be added to the list; and what action will be taken if evidence becomes available that suppliers on this list are dealing in timber from (a) illegal and (b) unsustainable sources.

Paul Boateng: In line with the Government commitment made in July 2000 following a statement by the Minister of the Environment, the Office of Government Commerce, including OGCbuying.solutions, is actively seeking to ensure that all timber supplied through OGCbuying.solutions contracts is from legal and sustainable sources.
	To that end OGCbuying.solutions publishes on its website a list of 'OGCbuying.solutions Sustainable Furniture and Timber Products'. This provides relevant information on companies that have successfully tendered for inclusion in OGCbuying.solutions framework arrangements. The current list is on its fourth revision and was last updated in January 2003. Revisions and updates are made on a periodic basis given any relevant changes in status.
	The list only includes companies that have successfully tendered for inclusion in OGCbuying.solutions framework arrangements. Companies must tender for inclusion in the framework arrangements through periodic competitions that are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
	Should evidence become available that any company included in an OGCbuying.solutions framework arrangement has knowingly obtained timber from (a) illegal (b) unsustainable sources they would be removed from the published list.

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer question 94020, on the working tax credit, tabled on 23 January.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 March 2003, Official Report, column 908W.

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the number of claim forms for (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit that have been (i) issued and (ii) returned.

Dawn Primarolo: There is a single claim form for these tax credits.
	By 28 February 2003 about 5.5 million claims forms had been issued and over 3 million claims received (including 334,000 on-line).

Treasury Budgeting Guidance

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what purpose the table Cost of European flights appears in section 3.7 of the current Treasury Budgeting Guidance; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: In constructing budgets for Treasury teams, officials need to estimate the costs of official travel. The table is provided to help in that process.

Treasury Priorities

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Treasury's strategic priorities are for 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury's strategic priorities for the year ahead are broadly encapsulated within the Department's PSA targets set out on the public website (http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/Spending Review/spend sr02/psa/spend sr02 psahmt.cfm) and recently in the HM Treasury Autumn Performance Report, November 2002 (Cm 5665).

Treasury Risks

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment the Treasury Management Board has made of the key risks facing HM Treasury.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury Management Board has identified the key risks facing the Department and has incorporated these into the Treasury's business plan ("Our Priorities for the Year Ahead 2002 to 2003", August 2002). The Management Board review these key risks regularly and periodically undertake wider risk assessment 'horizon scanning'.

Unemployment (Stoke-on-Trent)

George Stevenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many unemployed people in Stoke-on-Trent claimed unemployment benefit in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. George Stevenson, dated 24 March 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on how many unemployed people in Stoke-on-Trent claimed unemployment benefit in each year since 1997. (105000)
	The table below gives the annual average number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance in the Stoke-on-Trent Unitary Authority for the years 1997 to 2002. The data are not seasonally adjusted.
	
		
			 Year Total 
		
		
			 1997 6,377 
			 1998 5,725 
			 1999 6,063 
			 2000 5,256 
			 2001 5,142 
			 2002 4,739

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Commonwealth Scholarships Commission

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list appointees on the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission.

Clare Short: The 15 members of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission are:
	Professor Trudy Harpham (Chair)
	Professor William Hill (Deputy Chair)
	Professor Colin Bundy
	Professor Jang B. Dilawari
	Ms Sharon Huttly
	Professor Maxwell Irvine
	Professor David Johns
	Ms Caren Levy
	Dr. Derek Miles
	Professor John Morgan
	Dr. Hilary Perraton
	Dr. Patricia Richardson
	Professor Timothy Shaw
	Professor Gurharpal Singh
	Professor Martin Snaith

GM Food

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the extent to which the food needs of developing nations can be met without using genetically modified food; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: There are approximately 800 million hungry people in the world. In May 2001, we published our strategy in the paper "Eliminating Hunger". This outlines our approach for achieving the Millennium Development Goal on hunger to reduce the proportion of hungry people in the world by half by 2015.
	It is important to increase recognition that poverty rather than a country's lack of self sufficiency in food is the principal cause of hunger. The performance of the agricultural sector is however key to improved livelihoods and sustained poverty reduction. Lack of technology is not the sole or major cause of poor productivity in the agricultural sector. In many countries, agricultural productivity has been declining while existing productivity increasing technologies remain unused. A poor policy environment and limited international market opportunities resulting from developed country trade and agricultural policies are significant factors. Improving agriculture's performance will require removing these fundamental policy impediments, in addition to technology and innovation.
	There will always be a need for improved varieties of crops, livestock and fish with characteristics that meet the needs of the poor, and modern biotechnologies and conventional approaches to selection and improvement both have a role to play in developing these. Developing countries must have the opportunity to make their own informed decisions on whether or not to adopt modern biotechnologies based on an assessment of the risks and benefits from their safe development and use. Developed countries have a responsibility to help developing countries build the capacity to make these choices.

Iraq

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what representations she has received concerning the continuation of the UN Oil for Food programme during military action in Iraq;
	(2)  what contingency plans her Department has made to provide for the Iraqi people in the event of discontinuation of the UN Oil for Food programme in Iraq;
	(3)  what representations she has received concerning the number of Iraqi people (a) currently dependent on the UN Oil for Food programme and (b) the projected number of people that may be dependent on food aid after military action in Iraq;
	(4)  what representations she has received concerning provision for the Iraqi people in the event of the discontinuation of the UN Oil for Food programme during military action in Iraq.

Clare Short: 60 per cent. of the people of Iraq—around 16 million people—are currently totally dependent on the UN Oil for Food Programme (OFF). We have had many discussions on the continuation of the OFF programme with the UN Secretariat, Security Council members and others. I discussed this with Kofi Annan and his senior officials during my visit to New York on 19 March. Preparations are in hand for a new Security Council Resolution to allow the UN Secretary General to take charge of the Oil for Food (OFF) programme. A draft resolution will be tabled very soon.
	The UK has been in discussion with the UN humanitarian agencies, Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement and international NGOs to determine what resources they require to procure food to cover any temporary gap in the programme. We have committed £20 million to support the contingency preparations of these partners (covering food and other relief). This includes £8 million for the World Food Programme. We have set aside a further £70 million for the immediate humanitarian response and are considering further assistance in line with emerging humanitarian needs.
	DFID also provides 19 per cent. of EC funding for Iraq. The EC has committed 21 million euros to the immediate response, and the UK will support the Commission's request to the budgetary authorities for additional humanitarian assistance to Iraq.
	The current mandate for OFF runs until 3 June 2003. It is too early to plan in detail what might happen beyond that date.

Iraq

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress the Government have made with the US Administration over a co-ordination of response to the humanitarian relief effort in the event of a major new humanitarian emergency in the area of the Gulf where their military forces are co-operating.

Clare Short: DFID has been liaising with the UN and the US over the last few months to try to ensure that humanitarian considerations are fully taken into account in both the planning of military action and to ensure that humanitarian relief is available throughout the crisis and plans for reconstruction in place. I visited the UN, US Administration, IMF and World Bank on 19 and 20 March to help take this forward.
	The immediate responsibility for humanitarian relief lies with the military and both the UK and the US have made preparation. The UN is ready to take forward its humanitarian operations as soon as this is possible. DFID has provided funding to the UN and relevant NGO's to enable them to make preparations. A flash appeal for funds will issue from the UN shortly. Work is also in hand to provide authority to the Secretary General to put in place an Iraqi transitional government so that the international community can come together to support reconstruction. Both the IMF and the World Bank are prepared to engage but need a legally competent government in place.
	There is urgent need for a UN resolution to enable the Secretary General to keep the Oil for Food programme going. This provides $10 billion worth of relief annually. Work is in hand to secure such a resolution.

Iraq

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment has been made of the numbers of Iraqi civilians who would face hunger and disease in the event of a breakdown of water supplies and food rations lasting longer than seven days.

Clare Short: There are a number of possible humanitarian scenarios. The UN is currently planning on a 'medium case' scenario. This assumes severe disruption to critical infrastructure and the Iraqi Government's capacity to deliver basic food and relief. Shortages of fuel and power could shut down water and sewage treatment plants. Up to half the population could be without access to potable water and up to 10 million people may require food assistance during and immediately after conflict.
	We have been fully engaged in recent months in trying to get the international community to face the humanitarian risks of military action in Iraq, and to make preparations. There has been close collaboration between DFID and the Ministry of Defence to minimise the humanitarian impact of any conflict. A key aim is to minimise damage to the infrastructure on which the Oil for Food distribution network depends, in order that it can be re-established as quickly as possible after any conflict. This is the key to the avoidance of a humanitarian crisis.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the arrangements in place to maintain distribution of food within Iraq under the Oil-for-Food Programme in the circumstances of a military attack on Iraq.

Clare Short: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker) earlier today (PQ numbers 104397, 104398, 104400 and 104399).

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to her written statement of 13 March 2003, Official Report, column 21WS, on humanitarian contingency planning for Iraq, what the optimistic assumptions referred to are.

Clare Short: The optimistic view is that military action will be short with very limited casualties and that the regime will crumble quickly, the Oil for Food programme will be quickly reinstated, UN authority put in place to install an Iraqi Government and the international community work together to support the Iraqi people in reconstructing their country. Progress in implementing the route map to Palestinian statehood would be taken forward at the same time that following military conflict in Iraq, UN agencies will be able to follow quickly behind advancing coalition troops to start addressing the humanitarian needs previously met by the Oil for Food programme, and new needs caused by conflict.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Unemployment

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many citizens of the European Union were out of work on average last year.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 7 March 2003
	I have been asked to reply.
	At the end of 2002, the number of unemployed people in the European Union, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition, was 13.8 million. Around 77 million working-age people were estimated to be 'inactive' in the EU labour market. Excluding the 15 to 19-year-old age group, many of whom are in education or training, the number of Inactive' working-age people was 53 million.

Biological Research Centres

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how many applicants at biological research centres in (a) postgraduate institutes and (b) commercial laboratories and research facilities have been vetted under the voluntary security scheme and any other scheme in (i) the past five years and (ii) the past two years; how many were refused; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  which UK postgraduate institutions whose work includes biological research comply with the voluntary arrangements for security vetting of applications by scientists seeking work and studies in such institutions; what percentage of them this represents; and which do not;
	(3)  if the voluntary arrangements for security vetting applications by scientists seeking work and studies in the field of biological research in postgraduate institutions apply equally to (a) NHS facilities and (b) all categories of scientific, medical, paramedical and ancillary staff;
	(4)  what the countries of origin were of scientists who had their applications for work or study in biological research rejected on grounds of security in the past five years.

Mike O'Brien: I will write to my hon. Friend separately on this issue.

British Detainees (Guantanamo Bay)

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements are in place for (a) consular and (b) Red Cross visits to British detainees held on Guantanamo Bay.

Mike O'Brien: As Guantanamo Bay is outside a recognised consular district, the US does not consider that we are entitled to formal consular access there. However, British officials have visited on four occasions to check on the welfare of the British nationals and ask questions relating to National Security. We were the first country to visit its nationals.
	We understand that the International Committee of the Red Cross no longer maintain a permanent presence at Guantanamo Bay, however they visit there approximately every six months for an extended period of up to three months the committee has confidential access to the detainees there. We understand that it can raise issues of concern, if necessary, with the camp authorities.

Consul General (Dubai)

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason the Consul General in Dubai was replaced in November 1999; and what involvement his successor has had in making representations on behalf of George Atkinson.

Mike O'Brien: It is not our practice to divulge reasons for senior staff movements. His successor has been involved in George Atkinson's case from his arrival. Consular staff in Dubai and London are continuing to offer George Atkinson all the consular assistance they properly can.

Cyprus

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussion she proposes to have with Mr. Denktash of Northern Cyprus on his views as to restarting discussions towards future negotiations on Cyprus.

Denis MacShane: None.

Departmental Catering Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was of (a) in-house canteen and (b) other catering services provided by the Department in 2002.

Bill Rammell: In house catering services are provided by an external contractor. Staff pay for their own refreshments, although the FCO provides a subsidy to the contractor. The cost to the FCO for the provision of the subsidy in 2002 was £173,958.39 + VAT.
	The information requested in part (b) of the question is not centrally maintained and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government have agreed protocols for assistance by UK forces of UN agencies in the co-ordination of new relief efforts in the Gulf.

Mike O'Brien: During the period of military conflict it is unlikely that conditions will allow UN agencies to operate. We hope that as soon as the security environment permits UN agencies will commence work in Iraq.
	Our forces are experienced in operating with UN agencies and will seek to establish close and effective contact with any UN agencies they may be in contact with.

Iraq

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the steps taken to authenticate the documentation passed to the UN weapons inspectors referred to by Dr. M. El Baradei at the UN Security Council on 7 March 2003, claiming that Iraq had attempted to buy uranium from Niger and elsewhere.

Mike O'Brien: We understand that the IAEA acquired documents—some of which were forgeries. I am told these were not from UK sources. We can remain confident the statement in the Government's Dossier on Iraqi WMD that Iraq sought the supply of significant uranium from Africa.

Iraq

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of Shia fighters from Iran invading Iraq on the military situation on the border between Iraq and Iran.

Mike O'Brien: We continually assess all aspects of the military situation in Iraq. In this context, we welcome Iranian Government assurances that, in accordance with Iran's neutrality, it is not their intention that their troops will enter Iraq. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep in contact with the Iranians.

Iraq

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Iran on the situation in Iraq.

Mike O'Brien: We maintain regular contact with the Iranian authorities over the situation in Iraq, both at ministerial level and through our respective embassies. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary most recently discussed the situation with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr. Khamal Kharrazi, by telephone on 20 March.

Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  when he next plans to discuss with the (a) Indonesian and (b) Australian Governments the deaths of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters;
	(2)  whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Indonesian and East Timor papers from 1975–76 released in late 2002 represent all the Indonesian and East Timor papers held by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
	(3)  how many diplomatic written communications were sent or transmitted (a) by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the British Embassy in Jakarta and (b) by the British embassy in Jakarta to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in (i) 1975 and (ii) 1976 concerning Indonesia and East Timor;
	(4)  what recent discussions he has had with UN officials concerning the UN investigation into the deaths of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters;
	(5)  if he will make a statement on the (a) Foreign and Commonwealth Office telegram of 28 October 1975 and (b) Foreign and Commonwealth Office telegram number 394 of 24 October 1975 sent from the British embassy in Jakarta to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the deaths of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters;
	(6)  when the UK Government first made representations to the Indonesian Government about the deaths of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters.

Mike O'Brien: I have no plans at present to discuss the deaths of Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie with the Indonesian and Australian Governments.
	The Permanent Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office discussed the UN investigation into the Balibo murders with the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) to East Timor in November 2002. The SRSG explained that the investigation is unable to proceed until the Indonesian Government permits the interviewing of Indonesian witnesses. I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 25 February 2003, Official Report, column 434W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Cynon Valley (Ann Clwyd), for details of when we last raised this matter with the Indonesian authorities.
	The FCO papers from 1975–76, released in November 2002, show that the Australian Government led on this issue as all five journalists were based in Australia and were working for Australian TV stations at the time of their deaths. The Australian Government raised the case with Indonesia but their attempts to obtain clarification had only limited success.
	We are unable to provide details of when the British government first made representations to the Indonesian government about the deaths of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters. There would be disproportionate costs involved in researching the answer, as we would have to look through around 25 years' of files, and if, as is possible, the relevant papers were put on a consular file, these files would have been destroyed seven years after the last action they record.
	The FCO has released all its files from 1975–76 relevant to the Balibo murders. No papers were withheld from the files that were released, but minor deletions were made to a few documents in accordance with Sections 3(4) and 5(1) of the Public Record Acts. The hon. Member may wish to consult the files at the Public Record Office. I do not wish at this stage to comment on the decisions made by the then Government on their handling of the Balibo murders.

North Korea

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with United States, European and Asian counterparts on North Korea in the last month.

Bill Rammell: During this period, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has regularly discussed North Korea with his counterparts in the United States, the European Union and with colleagues in the UN Security Council. I have also held discussions with the President of the Republic of Korea, and with counterparts from the United States, Japan, China, Russia and Australia. We have argued for a consistent message from the international community calling on North Korea to commit itself fully to international non-proliferation agreements, and to respond to the invitation to discuss in a multilateral forum the security concerns it has raised.

Torture

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he takes to combat torture; and what plans he has to change the means of combating torture.

Bill Rammell: International action against torture is a priority for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. An anti-torture initiative to tackle torture throughout the world was launched in October 1998. Phase three of the initiative was launched on 26 June 2002. As part of this initiative, which included diplomatic activity, support for regional organisations and practical projects, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office launched two rounds of worldwide lobbying for the universal ratification of the UN Convention against Torture. Since we began lobbying 25 states have ratified. We plan to launch a third round of lobbying this year focusing on implementation of obligations as well as ratification. Last year the UK Government also undertook a widespread lobbying campaign to support the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture. We believe the Protocol offers the best means available to establish an effective international mechanism to combat torture through mandatory visits by national and international independent monitoring committees to places of detention in signatory states. The Optional Protocol was adopted at the UN General Assembly in December 2002. The UK Government are now working to secure early ratification.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continually updates its strategies for combating torture. This year an expert panel on torture prevention was set up to consolidate the work of the past four years and to advise on future strategy.

UN Resolutions

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what United Nations resolutions have been passed on (a) Iraq and (b) Israel since August 1990; and if he will make a statement on their respective implementation.

Bill Rammell: Information about United Nations resolutions passed on Iraq and Israel since August 1990 can be found on the UN website at: www.un.org.
	Full and active Iraqi co-operation with UNMOVIC and the IAEA is essential to implementation of UNSCR 1441 and previous relevant resolutions.
	We continue to support all efforts to resume the Middle East Peace Process, including through the work of the Quartet, of which the UN is a member.

SCOTLAND

Firefighters' Dispute

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings of the civil contingencies committee she has attended since the start of the firefighters dispute.

Helen Liddell: It is not Government practice to provide details of the frequency of these meetings or personnel attending. However either myself or officials of my Department have been regular attendees.

Ministerial Meetings

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when, since 1 January, she has had discussions with the First Minister of Scotland; and what the minuted agenda subject matter discussions were with respect to each meeting.

Helen Liddell: I meet the First Minister both formally and informally regularly and last did so formally on 10 February. Our discussions cover a wide range of important and topical issues. Under exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information the agenda, subject matter and discussion are confidential.

Pre-Budget Report

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when seminars she has established or plans to establish with key industry figures in Scotland as part of the pre-Budget report will take place; whom she will be meeting on each date; and which Scottish Executive Ministers will be in attendance on each date.

Helen Liddell: On 2 December 2002 I held seminars with representatives of Scottish business and with the Scottish Trades Union Council to discuss the Chancellor's pre-Budget report. On 24 February my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and I jointly hosted a further seminar to discuss macro-economic policy and the Chancellor's pre-Budget report with representatives of Scottish business and trade unions. Scottish Executive officials were present at all these events.
	These seminars are elements within a continuing programme of contact and dialogue, which I undertake with key stakeholders in the Scottish economy to ensure that the Government's economic policy takes account of Scottish interests and concerns.

Scotch Whisky

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans she has to discuss with the Chancellor of the Exchequer representations she has received for a cut in excise duty on whisky.

Helen Liddell: I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequor on a range of matters of importance to Scotland. I have drawn the attention of my right hon. Friend to the views of the whisky and spirits producers on excise duty rates on their products.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Defence

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the budget is for civil defence in (a) East Sussex and (b) Eastbourne in 2003.

Douglas Alexander: Central Government provide funds for local authority emergency planning in England and Wales in the form of Civil Defence Grant. This is allocated to those authorities with a statutory duty for Civil Defence (all-purpose local authorities, county councils, Fire and Civil Defence Authorities and London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority) to enable them to carry out their emergency planning functions.
	East Sussex County Council has been allocated £208,288 for 2003–04. As a shire district with no statutory duty for Civil Defence, Eastbourne Borough Council does not receive any direct funding from central Government.
	The Civil Defence Grant is just part of central Government funding for planning for and responding to emergencies. Central Government provide substantial funds to other local responders, including the emergency services and health authorities.
	Local authorities often supplement the central Government contribution from their general funds, recognising the importance of civil protection in their community. I understand that East Sussex County Council has budgeted to spend an additional £45,000 from their own general funds in 2003–04 and Eastbourne Borough Council £11,000.

Departmental Telephone Directory

Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the most recent internal telephone directory for the Department was published; how often it is updated; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Douglas Alexander: The Cabinet Office internal telephone directory is held in an electronic form on the Department's Intranet and it is regularly updated. A printed copy has not been published since August 1999 and could now be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HEALTH

Ambulance Trusts

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Ambulance Trusts have submitted statistics to the Government about the length of time spent waiting at accident and emergency departments; and if he will publish those.

David Lammy: holding answer 4 March 2003
	The information requested is not available centrally.

Asthma

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many practice nurses are trained in asthma management (a) in Warrington and (b) in the north-west region; and how many trained nurses per head of population each figure represents;
	(2)  how much Warrington Primary Care Trust will spend in 2002–03 on asthma care.

Jacqui Smith: During 2002–03, Warrington Primary Care Trust provided £100,000 in respect of the rapid respiratory team. The PCT also invests in drugs for the care and treatment of asthma. These drugs are also used for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and as such it is not possible to separate the drug costs for asthma from COPD. In addition, there will also be costs associated with hospital admissions, out-patient attendance and the asthma clinics which are organised by all general practitioner practices in Warrington. However, a breakdown of these costs is not available.
	Data for the number of practice nurses trained in asthma management for the north-west area are not held centrally. A survey was undertaken by Warrington PCT in December 2002. 22 practices, or 73 per cent. responded and confirmed that between them there were 30 asthma trained nurses. This represents 0.15 nurses per 1,000 total population for the Warrington area based on the Warrington PCT December 2002 survey.
	Source:
	Warrington Primary Care Trust.

Long-term Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the conclusion of the NHS Ombudsman relating to the single assessment process (SAP) in the report "NHS funding for long-term care" that the associated guidance does not suggest whether or how the SAP could provide a basis for, or contribute to, the assessment of eligibility for continuing NHS care.

Jacqui Smith: Guidance on the single assessment process already states that comprehensive assessments should be completed for people where the level of support and treatment likely to be offered is intensive or prolonged. We have indicated that, prior to the issue of a section 2 notice (notice from the national health service to say that a patient requires social services on discharge from hospital), the NHS must carry out an assessment, informed by the single assessment process for fully funded NHS continuing care.

Pharmacies

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmacies dispense methadone to drug addicts; and how many of these are independent pharmacies.

David Lammy: Pharmacies which are included on the pharmaceutical lists of primary care trusts are required by their terms of service to dispense any medicines which are prescribed on a national health service prescription form. That includes dispensing methadone to drug addicts. At 31 March 2002 there were 9,756 such pharmacies, of which 4,666 were neither in health centres nor in chains of more than five pharmacies.

Pharmacies

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of additional costs in terms of general practitioner practice time arising from the report by the Office of Fair Trading on pharmacies.

David Lammy: We are committed to expanding the role and services community pharmacists offer through, for example, closer working with other primary healthcare professionals including general practitioners. We are carefully considering the impact the Office of Fair Trading's recommendation would have on these objectives and other healthcare professionals in order to inform the Government's response.

Renal Units

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans there are to establish new renal units in 2003; how many new renal units have been established since 1997; how many renal units providing dialysis there are; and how many adults (a) received and (b) required dialysis in 2002.

David Lammy: holding answer 20 March 2003
	In England, we are supporting an expansion of renal dialysis capacity, including the development of new satellite renal units, to address the increasing prevalence of established renal failure and to improve patient access to local services.
	The latest information on renal services is from the 1998 renal survey. It shows there were 52 main renal units and 73 satellite units in England, dialysing a total of 13,405 patients. A further survey has been commissioned and the results of this will be available next year. Every patient with established renal failure who will benefit from kidney dialysis should receive treatment.

Scoliosis

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision has been made for treatment of children with scoliosis.

Jacqui Smith: A range of services for the treatment of scoliosis is available across the country and spinal corrective surgery for children is undertaken at over 40 hospitals. A need to consider the organisation and disposition of resources necessary for treatment has been recognised and this is being taken forward by a project board, which is currently reviewing provision.

Smoke-free Public Places

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the British Medical Association's report, "Towards Smoke-free Public Places".

Hazel Blears: We welcome the report which provides a clear and helpful assessment of the issues involved in dealing with environmental tobacco smoke.
	We want to work with businesses and others to achieve real change, highlighting and building on best practice. We want to build on the work already undertaken under the Public Places Charter and are funding local tobacco control alliances to work with local employers to tackle passive smoking.

PRIME MINISTER

Environmental Policies

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the ability of the present structure of Government Departments, and allocation of responsibilities, to deliver sound environmental policies across Government.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 8 January 2003, Official Report, columns 268–69W.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2003, Official Report, column 785W, on Iraq, in which column in the debate on 18 March 2003, the answer is to the second and third parts of the question.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 18 March 2003, Official Report, column 768, and the answer I gave the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith) today.

Master of the Queen's Music

Paul Tyler: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the procedure for announcing the appointment of the Master of the Queen's Music.

Tony Blair: The appointment of the Master of The Queen's Music is a Royal Household appointment.

Meetings (Northern Ireland)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Prime Minister how many meetings he has had with representatives of (a) the DUP, (b) the UUP, (c) the SDLP and (d) Sinn Fein since 13 January.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 March 2003, Official Report, column 785W.

Nuclear Weapons Technology and Capacity

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the countries and groups, to which he referred pursuant to his oral statement of 18 March 2003, Official Report, column 768, on Iraq, which are trading in nuclear weapons technology and capacity.

Tony Blair: We have consistently said publicly that we have serious concerns about the proliferation activities of a number of countries. Much of the information on which such concerns are based comes from intelligence reporting.
	It is not Government policy to comment in detail on intelligence matters.

Thames Gateway (Ministerial Committee)

Edward Davey: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the (a) dates, (b) name of the chair, (c) composition and (d) items on the agenda of each meeting of the ministerial committee on the Thames Gateway since it first met.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 6 February 2003, Official Report, column 19WS. It is established practice under exemption two of Part 11 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information not to disclose information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Owner Occupation

Jim Cousins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of over-60 households were owner occupiers in (a) 1997, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002, broken down by region of the UK.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		Proportion of households with head aged 60 or over who are owner occupiers by Government Office Region and country -- Percentage
		
			 Government Office Region and Country 1997 2001 2002 
		
		
			 North East 57 59 61 
			 North West 66 72 72 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 63 65 65 
			 East Midlands 68 72 71 
			 West Midlands 68 71 72 
			 East 68 74 73 
			 London 60 63 65 
			 South East 73 76 78 
			 South West 74 77 79 
			 England 67 71 72 
			 Wales 71 74 74 
			 Scotland 52 58 62 
			 Northern Ireland 63 70 69 
			 United Kingdom 66 70 71 
		
	
	Source:
	Labour Force Survey:
	Great Britain—Office for National Statistics
	Northern Ireland—Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment

Policy Action Teams

David Kidney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many policy action teams reports have been (a) published, (b) implemented and (c) reviewed since 1997.

Barbara Roche: 18 Policy Action Team Reports were published in 1999 followed by a major review, National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal: Policy Action Team Audit, in January 2001. These documents can be found at: www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk. The reports are currently being further reviewed by the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit to ensure progress has been made on the agreed recommendations that they contained.

Awards

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (a) how many awards were made in the last financial year and (b) what their administrative costs were for the (i) New Deal for Communities Grant programme, (ii) Community Chest Grant programme, (iii) Tenant Participation Grant programme, (iv) Rough Sleepers Grant programme and (v) Special Grants programme.

Barbara Roche: The information is as follows:
	New Deal for Communities (NDC):
	There are 39 New Deal for Communities (NDC) Partnerships, who each received NDC grant in 2001–02. The 39 NDC Partnerships spent £65.3 million on projects. They spent £17.3 million on their management and administration. Spending on management and administration costs is likely to be higher in the early stages of the programme, but over the 10-year lifetime of the NDC Programme each NDC Partnership is allowed to spend 10 per cent. of its overall grant on management and administration.
	Community Chest:
	Neighbourhood Renewal Community Chest Awards and Administrative Costs for the last Financial Year.
	
		
			 GO Awards made Admin costs (£) Spent on awards (£) 
		
		
			 East 16 6,491 43,625 
			 East Midlands 126 31,225 322,088 
			 London 613 193,353 1,140,200 
			 North East 389 107,030 981,149 
			 North West 535 86,189 1,188,887 
			 South East 60 39,653 281,267 
			 South West 52 12,194 105,857 
			 West Midlands 180 110,735 1,107,346 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 203 63,585 543,312 
			 Total 2,174 539,720 4,713,731 
		
	
	A number of these figures are estimates
	Tenant Participation Grant:
	In 2001–02 515 Tenant Participation Grant Awards were made with admin costs of £1.617 million. These are the best estimates. Admin costs include an element for ODPM costs.
	Rough Sleepers Grant programme:
	In 2001–02 the RSU made 487 grant awards. The total administrative cost of running the Unit in that year was £1.33 million.
	Special Grants Programme:
	Special Grants Programme (SGP) funding totalled £1.7 million in 2001–02 with 40 individual grants awarded. Costs for the management and administration of the SGP were approximately £40,000.

Commercial Leases

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will introduce legislation to outlaw private clauses in commercial leases; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: In the early 1990s, there was considerable concern about the use of confidentiality clauses in commercial leases. However, the University of Reading 2000 report for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions on leasing flexibility found that use of confidentiality clauses in commercial leases was rare.
	Banning confidentiality clauses in commercial leases would be a serious interference with freedom of contract, which the Government would not undertake lightly. Nevertheless the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister would be concerned at any re-emergence of this practice, under which landlords concealed concessionary terms given to tenants from the general market in order to sustain unrealistically high rents.
	The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have issued guidance to surveyors that parties to commercial leases should avoid unnecessary secrecy in their transactions, in the interests of market transparency. In the first instance the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister would look to the professional bodies to discourage the use of confidentiality clauses.

Commercial Leases

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research he is conducting into the effectiveness of Government guidance on upward-only rents for commercial premises; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The property industry's 2002 Code of Practice for Commercial Leases in England and Wales commits landlords and their funders to provide a choice of leasing terms whenever possible, including alternatives to upwards only rent review clauses.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister awarded a contract last July to the University of Reading to gauge the impact of the Code. This will help the ODPM to assess, at the end of a two-year period, whether to continue relying on voluntary measures to produce more choice and flexibility in the property market or to introduce legislative controls.
	The university will assess, over a two-year period, whether the Code has provided a more flexible commercial property market. The contract requires the university to submit a final report by 31 December 2004 with an interim report by 31 December 2003. The specific objectives of the research are:
	(a) to evaluate changes in commercial property market conditions over the review period (April 2002-April 2004);
	(b) to measure flexibility in the commercial property leasing market over the review period, using the findings of the University of Reading report on the 1995 Code of Practice* as a baseline;
	(c) to measure the degree of choice in the commercial property leasing market over the review period, focusing particularly on the availability of alternative options to upward only rent reviews;
	(d) to measure the degree of awareness of property matters among occupiers of commercial property, concentrating particularly on small businesses; and
	(e) to assess how far the 2002 Code of Practice had influenced the commercial property leasing market over the review period.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has made it clear that if the research shows there are no signs of change, legislation will be on the agenda.
	* Monitoring the Code of Practice for Commercial Leases (2 vols), The University of Reading in association with Sanderson Townend and Vail Williams Chartered Surveyors, for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, London, April 2000, 36.

Communities Plan

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library the environmental constraint maps for each zone of change in the Communities Plan.

Tony McNulty: Major growth in the four growth areas identified in regional planning guidance for London and the rest of the South East will be planned in partnership with local authorities and other stakeholders. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has arranged for copies of the growth studies for the three newer growth areas to be placed in the Library of the House. In the Thames Gateway work on environmental constraints is under way in conjunction with the Environment Agency. Consideration will be given to its publication when the work is further advanced.

Entertainment

David Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the estimate is of the total spending of his Department in all forms of entertainment in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. From 1 June 2002 to 31 January 2003, Ministers and the Permanent Secretary and their Private Offices spent an estimated £3,350 on entertainment, working lunches, dinners and awaydays with stakeholders.
	All expenditure on official entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting".

Home Ownership

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what schemes his Department is promoting to help council tenants move into home ownership;
	(2)  what plans he has to encourage tenants of registered social landlords to move into home ownership.

Tony McNulty: The Government continue to support a number of schemes which help both local authority and housing association tenants to purchase their social rented home or which free up social housing for re-letting to others in housing need by assisting tenants to buy an alternative home. These are described as follows:
	As announced in "Sustainable Communities: building for the future" on 5 February, the Housing Corporation is heading a Task Force to look at all the programmes that support sustainable home ownership. An announcement on the Task Force and the terms of reference is being made today.
	Existing schemes include the Right to Buy which enables secure tenants of local authorities to purchase their rented home with a discount. Secure tenants who have transferred with their homes from local authorities to housing associations have a 'preserved' Right to Buy.
	Eligible housing association tenants of properties built or acquired with public funds since 1 April 1997 may purchase their rented home with a discount through the Right to Acquire scheme.
	Some housing associations offer the voluntary purchase grant scheme. This enables tenants of older housing association properties to purchase their home with a discount at the discretion of their landlord.
	In addition, tenants of both local authorities and housing associations can benefit from the Homebuy equity loan and shared ownership (part buy/part rent) schemes. Both schemes are offered by housing associations and funded by the Housing Corporation, although local authorities do fund a few of these schemes.
	Cash Incentive Schemes are currently operated by some local housing authorities so they can give grants to their tenants to assist them in buying a property in the private sector. These schemes have the effect of releasing local authority accommodation for letting to those in housing need.

Local Government Finance

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the regional bodies which have the power to precept on local authority council taxpayers, indicating (a) which have a national power and (b) where they have specifically local powers; and to which areas they apply.

Christopher Leslie: There are no bodies that can issue precepts on local authority council taxpayers nationwide.
	County councils issue precepts which are met by council taxpayers in those counties. The Greater London Authority has power to issue a precept which is met by council taxpayers in Greater London.
	All English Police Authorities (except the Metropolitan Police Authority) and Metropolitan County Fire and Civil Defence Authorities have powers to issue precepts which are met by taxpayers in the districts within their areas.
	There are also a large number of bodies which have the power to issue levies or special levies to local authorities within their areas. The most important are:
	The Environment Agency (which levies county, metropolitan district and London borough councils and the Common Council of the City of London, if any part of their areas is comprised in a local flood defence district);
	Passenger Transport Authorities which levy district councils in the former metropolitan counties;
	Waste Authorities which levy councils in parts of Greater London, Merseyside and Greater Manchester;
	The London Pensions Fund Authority which levies London borough councils and the Common Council of the City of London;
	National Park Authorities, which levy county and district councils, the whole or part of whose areas fall within a National Park;
	The Broads Authority, which levies district and county councils in Norfolk and Suffolk; The Lea Valley Regional Park Authority which levies London borough councils, Essex and Hertfordshire county councils, Thurrock council and the Common Council of the City of London;
	Internal Drainage Boards which can issue special levies to billing authorities, all or part of whose areas fall within the internal drainage districts for which the Boards are responsible (which are such areas within the areas of the regional flood defence committees as will derive benefit, or avoid danger, as a result of drainage operations).

Local Government Finance

Candy Atherton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proposals he has to create lower council tax bands for residents of park homes.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is aware of the concerns about the current width of band A from people who live in lower value dwellings like park homes. We have announced we will have a council tax revaluation in England in 2007 based on 1 April 2005 values and ahead of that we will listen to the views of local government and taxpayers about council tax bands. We will decide on any changes to the banding structure nearer to the time of the revaluation.

Local Government Finance

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many families are (a) in housing need, (b) in bed and breakfast hotels and (c) homeless, broken down by London borough.

Tony McNulty: Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their waiting lists (excluding tenants awaiting a transfer) as at 1 April in their Annual Housing Investment Programme returns. Their activities under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002) are reported on their quarterly P1 (E) housing returns to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The latest reported information is given in the following table:
	
		Statutory homeless households
		
			 In accommodation arranged by local authorities under homelesslegislation—31 December 2002 
			 All homeless households  Homeless households withdependent children 
			  Households on the Housing Register 1 April 2002 Number accepted as eligible, homeless and in priority need September to December 2002 All types of temporary accommodation Bed and breakfast accommodation only All types of temporary accommodation Bed and breakfast accommodation only 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,668 159 736 72 67 45 
			 Barnet 7,030 (26)— (26)— (26)— (26)— (26)— 
			 Bexley 3,487 123 230 31 150 22 
			 Brent 14,746 253 3,498 498 3,119 341 
			 Bromley 3,592 208 516 196 (26)— 117 
			 Camden 8,147 327 1,901 218 1,267 85 
			 City of London 623 11 32 11 24 3 
			 Croydon 6,890 260 3,263 432 2,521 241 
			 Ealing 8,289 259 1,979 651 (26)— 516 
			 Enfield 7,264 233 2,483 179 2,223 83 
			 Greenwich 6,876 263 268 0 (26)— (26)— 
			 Hackney 8,930 296 2,285 193 (26)— (26)— 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 6,044 219 1,600 610 1,198 307 
			 Haringey 12,585 (26)— (26)— (26)— (26)— (26)— 
			 Harrow 3,992 93 1,624 51 1,386 20 
			 Havering 1,888 49 314 0 221 0 
			 Hillingdon 6,041 153 1,845 451 1,352 209 
			 Hounslow 6,369 156 1,086 319 (26)— 111 
			 Islington 8,161 355 1,364 94 895 25 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 8,294 94 968 280 (26)— (26)— 
			 Kingston upon Thames 3,971 96 715 9 39 0 
			 Lambeth 14,228 434 2,021 543 1,285 193 
			 Lewisham 15,368 193 1,243 0 (26)— 0 
			 Merton 4,361 43 175 53 128 15 
			 Newham 13,942 328 3,814 811 (26)— (26)— 
			 Redbridge 5,671 166 1,837 258 175 175 
			 Richmond upon Thames 3,763 94 525 38 32 15 
			 Southwark 6,164 (26)— (26)— (26)— (26)— (26)— 
			 Sutton 1,653 93 428 77 335 32 
			 Tower Hamlets 7,837 (26)— (26)— (26)— (26)— (26)— 
			 Waltham Forest 10,283 246 1,032 39 790 12 
			 Wandsworth 3,923 262 1,442 456 964 150 
			 Westminster 3,709 264 2,623 759 (26)— 151 
		
	
	(26) Not reported.
	Note:
	Local authorities have different practices for compiling and managing housing register/waiting lists, which means that direct comparisons between authorities can be misleading.
	Sources
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Housing Investment Programme (HIP) annual returns.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister P1(E) housing activity returns (quarterly).

Ministerial Travel

David Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his estimate is of the total expenditure by his Department on ministerial travel (a) in the UK and (b) abroad in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (estimated); and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Alexander) on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W.

New Deal for Communities

Matthew Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the funding for the New Deal for Communities for each Government office of the region in financial year 2003–04.

Barbara Roche: The 2003–04 figures are still being finalised. However the current draft allocations are as follows:
	
		£ million
		
			 Region  
		
		
			  
			  
			 London 51 
			 South east 12 
			 South west 11 
			 East 10.5 
			 East Midlands 24.5 
			 West Midlands 30.5 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 25.5 
			 North west 52.5 
			 North east 23.5

Property Prices

Jim Cousins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average price for each property type in each region of the UK was in the last quarter of (a) 2002, (b) 2001 and (c) 1996 in (i) cash, (ii) real and (iii) percentage increase terms.

Tony McNulty: The average prices by property type and by region are shown in the following tables. The figures for England and Wales are derived from Land Registry data, covering all transactions. Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are estimated on the basis of sample data from the Survey of Mortgage Lenders.
	
		Q4 1996—cash prices -- £
		
			  Detached bungalows Semi-detached Terraced Flats 
		
		
			 North East 85,460 48,335 34,793 32,456 
			 North West 94,995 50,721 32,458 45,677 
			 Yorks and Humber 88,439 48,611 35,085 41,199 
			 East Midlands 79,333 43,996 33,460 32,964 
			 West Midlands 94,683 51,040 38,692 38,307 
			 East 101,653 60,625 49,907 39,982 
			 London 208,157 105,553 94,967 84,026 
			 South East 134,922 71,053 56,715 45,814 
			 South West 94,610 57,255 46,899 45,267 
			 Wales 74,505 46,01 1 37,164 41 ,224 
			 Scotland 89,702 49,096 38,381 31,471 
			 Northern Ireland 70,862 46,104 31,167 30,681 
		
	
	
		£
		
			  Cash prices Real (Q4 1996) prices 
			 Q4 2001 Detached bungalows Semi-detached Terraced Flats Detached bungalows Semi-detached Terraced Flats 
		
		
			 North East 120,931 63,641 46,818 53,867 107,154 56,391 41,485 47,730 
			 North West 145,790 74,270 46,634 76,400 129,181 65,809 41,322 67,696 
			 Yorks and Humber 127,203 67,729 49,263 75,777 112,711 60,013 43,651 67,144 
			 East Midlands 132,270 70,603 55,562 66,188 117,201 62,559 49,232 58,647 
			 West Midlands 165,451 83,250 64,041 73,460 146,602 73,766 56,745 65,091 
			 East 194,194 120,352 98,347 80,787 172,070 106,641 87,143 71,583 
			 London 411,805 223,100 203,044 176,701 364,891 197,683 179,913 156,571 
			 South East 267,490 147,133 118,336 101,329 237,017 130,371 104,854 89,785 
			 South West 185,883 110,239 93,480 86,703 164,706 97,680 82,831 76,825 
			 Wales 115,617 65,416 49,865 67,672 102,446 57,963 44,184 59,962 
			 Scotland 116,019 68,816 56,625 55,450 102,802 60,976 50,174 49,133 
			 Northern Ireland 100,793 75,455 57,637 69,705 89,310 66,859 51,071 61,764 
		
	
	
		£
		
			  Cash prices Real (Q4 1996) prices 
			 Q4 2002 Detached bungalows Semi-detached Terraced Flats Detached bungalows Semi-detached Terraced Flats 
		
		
			 North East 149,636 77,622 55,978 65,249 129,315 67,081 48,376 56,388 
			 North West 177,638 92,484 55,161 93,873 153,514 79,924 47,670 81,125 
			 Yorks and Humber 160,334 84,61 1 59,602 91,029 138,560 73,120 51,508 78,667 
			 East Midlands 167,758 91,826 72,057 82,659 144,976 79,356 62,271 71,434 
			 West Midlands 202,082 103,271 79,951 85,100 174,639 89,247 69,094 73,543 
			 East 236,113 149,217 123,974 107,290 204,048 128,953 107,138 92,719 
			 London 500,987 269,859 242,687 208,609 432,951 233,211 209,729 180,280 
			 South East 314,831 180,015 146,505 123,238 272,076 155,569 126,610 106,502 
			 South West 234,369 141,089 119,168 114,839 202,541 121,929 102,985 99,244 
			 Wales 140,670 79,082 60,419 78,220 121,567 68,343 52,214 67,597 
			 Scotland 135,731 80,557 68,959 68,125 117,298 69,617 59,595 58,873 
			 Northern Ireland 126,308 87,593 67,275 94,093 109,155 75,698 58,139 81,315 
		
	
	
		Q4 1996 to Q4 2002
		
			  Percentage change in cash prices Percentage change in real prices 
			  Detached bungalows Semi-detached Terraced Flats Detached bungalows Semi-detached Terraced Flats 
		
		
			 North East 75.1 60.6 60.9 101.0 51.3 38.8 39.0 73.7 
			 North West 87.0 82.3 69.9 105.5 61.6 57.6 46.9 77.6 
			 Yorks and Humber 81.3 74.1 69.9 120.9 56.7 50.4 46.8 90.9 
			 East Midlands 111.5 108.7 115.4 150.8 82.7 80.4 86.1 116.7 
			 West Midlands 113.4 102.3 106.6 122.2 84.4 74.9 78.6 92.0 
			 East 132.3 146.1 148.4 168.3 100.7 112.7 114.7 131.9 
			 London 140.7 155.7 155.5 148.3 108.0 120.9 120.8 114.6 
			 South East 133.3 153.4 158.3 169.0 101.7 118.9 123.2 132.5 
			 South West 147.7 146.4 154.1 153.7 114.1 113.0 119.6 119.2 
			 Wales 88.8 71.9 62.6 89.7 63.2 48.5 40.5 64.0 
			 Scotland 51.3 64.1 79.7 116.5 30.8 41.8 55.3 87.1 
			 Northern Ireland 78.2 90.0 115.9 206.7 54.0 64.2 86.5 165.0 
		
	
	
		Q4 2001 to Q4 2002
		
			  Percentage change in cash prices Percentage change in real prices 
			  Detached bungalows Semi-detached Terraced Flats Detached bungalows Semi-detached Terraced Flats 
		
		
			 North East 23.7 22.0 19.6 21.1 20.7 19.0 16.6 18.1 
			 North West 21.8 24.5 18.3 22.9 18.8 21.4 15.4 19.8 
			 Yorks and Humber 26.0 24.9 21.0 20.1 22.9 21.8 18.0 17.2 
			 East Midlands 26.8 30.1 29.7 24.9 23.7 26.8 26.5 21.8 
			 West Midlands 22.1 24.0 24.8 15.8 19.1 21.0 21.8 13.0 
			 East 21.6 24.0 26.1 32.8 18.6 20.9 22.9 29.5 
			 London 21.7 21.0 19.5 18.1 18.7 18.0 16.6 15.1 
			 South East 17.7 22.3 23.8 21.6 14.8 19.3 20.7 18.6 
			 South West 26.1 28.0 27.5 32.5 23.0 24.8 24.3 29.2 
			 Wales 21.7 20.9 21.2 15.6 18.7 17.9 18.2 12.7 
			 Scotland 17.0 17.1 21.8 22.9 14.1 14.2 18.8 19.8 
			 Northern Ireland 25.3 16.1 16.7 35.0 22.2 13.2 13.8 31.7 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Changes in the Retail Prices Index (RPI) between Q4 1996, Q4 2001 and Q4 2002 were used to convert cash prices to real (Q4 1996) prices. The relevant RPI figures were Q4 1996: 154.0, Q4 2001: 173.8, Q4 2002: 178.2.
	2. Transaction prices below £1,000 have been excluded from the figures—because they are deemed to be at below market values. One or two transactions above £20 million have also been excluded so as not to distort the average prices within each category.
	3. Note that the average price of flats in Northern Ireland for Q4 1996 is based on the prices recorded not only in Q4 1996 but also in Q3 1996 and Q1 1997. This is because the sample for Q4 1996 alone was too small.

Seaside and Country Homes Scheme

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 3 March 2003, Official Report, column 875W, on the Seaside and Country Homes Scheme, if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued by HOMES.

Tony McNulty: A copy of the Guidance will be placed in the Library of the House.

Social Exclusion Unit

David Willetts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 5 March 2003, Official Report, columns 82–83WS, on Social Exclusion Unit projects, whether he plans to publish the report on helping people into work in the most deprived areas in England before the end of 2003.

Barbara Roche: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects that the final report of the Social Exclusion Unit project on employment and enterprise in deprived areas will be published in 2004.

Supporting People Partnership

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff work on the Supporting People Partnership helpline; how many staff in his Department work on administrating and implementing the Supporting People Partnership to local authorities and service providers; and at what cost.

Tony McNulty: One and a half members of staff manage the Supporting People helpline, aided by other Office of the Deputy Prime Minister staff who are able to provide expert replies to specific points raised by the helpline questions. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has 19 members of staff working directly on the Supporting People programme and has engaged a further 35 people from different organisations and sectors, to help stakeholders engage fully with the new programme. Direct running costs for Supporting People are approximately £480,000.

Tunbridge Wells and Kent Councils

Archie Norman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many public service agreements were entered into by (a) Tunbridge Wells borough council and (b) Kent county council; and what level of funding has been provided that is contingent on them in each of the past two years.

Nick Raynsford: The Government have not entered into a Local Public Service Agreement with Tunbridge Wells borough council. The Government signed a Local Public Service Agreement with Kent in February 2001. During the financial year 2001–02 Kent were paid a grant of £1,000,050 and issued with Unsupported Credit Approvals of £5 million. No funding was provided during 2002–03.

Tunbridge Wells and Kent Councils

Archie Norman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many local partnerships were formed by (a) Tunbridge Wells borough council and (b) Kent county council to implement central Government initiatives; and what the level of funding for each was in each year since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: Tunbridge Wells borough council has not formed its own local strategic partnership to implement Government initiatives, however, in September 2001, it along with Tonbridge and Mailing and Sevenoaks Councils decided to work together to form an area partnership for the west Kent region, since many service providers and interest groups cover areas much larger than a single district.
	Kent county council has developed a countywide strategic partnership as a forum to encourage cross tier partnership working. The county strategic partnership grew out of the Kent Association of Local Authorities.
	Neither Tunbridge Wells borough council nor Kent county council are in receipt of Neighbourhood Renewal Funding—the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's funding programme that supports the development of strategic partnerships. There are only 88 areas in England that qualify to receive this specific funding, by virtue of being especially deprived as ranked by ward on the Government's Indices of Deprivation. Those 88 areas contain 82 per cent. of the most deprived wards in England, none of which fall in the Kent county council area.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Bail Records

Dave Watts: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on her plans to link the courts' computer systems in order to improve past bail records information.

Yvette Cooper: Links between the police and the Magistrates courts case management systems already exist in some areas. The implementation of NSPIS Case Preparation system (the police's new case management application), together with the implementation of a standard national software application in Magistrates' courts will extend these links across England and Wales over the next three years.
	We plan to join together the existing and developing IT systems in a staged development, using an 'information walkway' known as the Criminal Justice Exchange to link individual systems. It will enable the courts and other criminal justice agencies to share case data—including information relating to bail—electronically.
	This is part of a major IT and business change programme over the next three years for which £834 million of new money has been provided in the SR2002 settlement for the CJS as a whole.

External Reports

Francis Maude: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list (a) the title and subject, (b) the total cost to the Department and (c) the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by the Department in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: I have understood "external report" to mean a report produced at the request of my Department by a person, group or organisation external to my Department, and which is publicly available. This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, information on completed reports commissioned and published by LCD Research Unit is set out in the following table. The costs quoted exclude in-house publication costs and incidental LCD staff time in assisting the researchers and managing the contracts.
	
		Completed reports commissioned and published by LCD Research Unit: by year of Publication
		
			 Title/Subject Research Costs £ Report Date Researcher/ Author Details 
		
		
			 1997
			 Monitoring the rise in the small claims limit: litigants' experiences of different forms of adjudication. 24,789 December 1997 John Baldwin—University of Birmingham 
			 Delay in the Criminal Justice System 4,498 December 1997 Satnam Choongh—University of Warwick 
			 Resolving Civil Disputes: choosing between out-of-court schemes and litigation 5,564 December 1997 Tamara Goriely and Tom Williams—TPR Social and Legal Research 
			 Law And Economics: State of the Art and Questions for the Future 4,000 December 1997 Anthony Ogus and Rachel Ammas—University of Manchester 
			 Regulating Legal Services 9,000 December 1997 Robert Baldwin—London School of Economics and Political Science 
			 Judicial Appointments Commissions: The European and North 2,250 December 1997 Kate Malleson—London School of Economics 
			 American Experience and the possible implications for the United Kingdom 8,400 December 1997 Cheryl Thomas—Wolfson College, Oxford University 
			 The Division of Marital Assets Following Divorce with Particular Reference to Pensions 4,900 December 1997 Antony Dnes—University of Hertfordshire 
			 Legal Aid Delivery Systems: which offer the best value for money in mass casework? A Summary of International Experience 1,750 December 1997 Tamara Goriely—TPR Social and Legal Research 
			 Ethnic Monitoring of Defendatns Appearing at Leicester Magistrates' Court in 1995 3,100 December 1997 Home Office and Professor Philip Bean—Loughborough University 
			   
			 1998 
			 Rationing and Cost-Containment in Legal Services 8,000 March 1998 Robert Dingwall, Paul Fenn and Jackie Tuck—University of Nottingham 
			 The Empirical Analysis of Litigation: a Survey of the Economics Literature 8,000 March 1998 Neil Rickman—University of Surrey 
			 Contracting for Legal Services under different Costs Rules 6,200 March 1998 Gwyn Bevan—London School of Economics and Political Science Paul Fenn—University of Nottingham Neil Rickman—University of Surrey 
			 Costing Fast Track Procedures Through Hypothetical Studies 96,000 June 1998 Tamara Goriely, Farah Butt and Avrom Sherr—Institute of Advanced Legal Studies 
			 The Central London County Court Pilot Mediation Scheme 23,152 July 1998 Hazel Genn—University College London 
			 An Economic Analysis of a Proposal to Reform the Discretionary Approach to the Division of Marital Assets in England and Wales 4,000 September 1998 Antony W. Dnes 
			 A Study of the services provided under the Otton Project to Litigants In Person at the Citizens Advice Bureau at the Royal Courts of Justice 10,693 September 1998 Joyce Plotnikoff and Richard Woolfson—Consultants in Management, IT and the Law 
			   
			 1999 
			 Marriage, Cohabitation and the Law: individualism and obligation 71,906 February 1999 Jane Lewis—University of Nottingham 
			 High Divorce Rates: the state of the evidence on reasons and remedies 79,150 February 1999 One plus One Marriage and Partnership Research 
			 Reducing delay in the Criminal Justice System—the views of the Defence Lawyers 15,200 March 1999 Lee Bridges and Marc Jacobs—University of Warwick 
			 An Empirical Analysis of Standard Fees in Magistrates court Criminal Cases 6,000 August 1999 Paul Fenn—University of Nottingham Alastair Gray –Wolfson College, Oxford University Neil Rickman—University of Surrey 
			 A regional study of local authority and court processes in homelessness cases 30,989 September 1999 Trevor Buck—University of Leicester 
			 Children and Civil Litigation 24,654 December 1999 Judith Masson—University of Warwick 
			 2000 
			 Assumptions about Lawyers in Policy Statements 11,075 February 2000 Phillip Lewis –Wolfson College, Oxford University 
			 Factors affecting the decision to apply for Silk and Judicial Office 9,652 June 2000 Kate Malleson—London School of Economics Fareda Banda—School of Oriental and African Studies 
			 The Effects on Magistrates of Learning that the Defendant has a Previous Conviction 33,940 December 2000 Sally Lloyd-Bostock—University of Birmingham 
			   
			 2001 
			 The introduction of a question on ethnic background into the Civil Justice System 41,076 October 2001 Sara Candy and Vanessa Stone—BMRB 
			   
			 2002 
			 Court-based ADR Initiatives for Non-Family Civil Disputes: The Commercial Court and the Court of Appeal 19,500 March 2002 Hazel Genn—University College London 
			 A Civil Justice Audit 57,515 March 2002 Joanna Shapland—University of Sheffield 
			 Judges' Case Management Perspectives: The Views of Opinion Formers and Case Managers 12,500 April 2002 Joyce Plotnikoff and Richard Woolfson—Consultants in Management, IT and the Law 
			 Professionalising Lay Justice: The Role of the Court Clerk in Family Proceedings 39,507 April 2002 Joan Hunt—Wolfson College, Oxford University 
			 It's Only Parking, but.... Report of a Research Project on the Applicability to other Adjudicative Settings of Organisational Arrangements at the London Parking Appeals Service 25,246 May 2002 John Raine and Stephanie Snape—University of Brimingham 
			 The impact of conditional fees on the selection, handling and outcomes of personal injury cases 48,354 August 2002 Paul Fenn—University of Nottingham Alastair Gray—Wolfson College, Oxford University Neil Rickman—University of Surrey And Howard Carrier—University of Nottingham 
			 The impact of sources of finance on personal injury litigation: An empirical analysis 43,800 August 2002 Paul Fenn—University of Nottingham Alastair Gray—Wolfson College, Oxford University Neil Rickman—University of Surrey 
			 The Lay and Judicial Perspectives on the Expansion of the Small Claims Regime 21,000 Septemebr 2002 John Baldwin—University of Birmingham 
			 The Impact on Courts and the Administration of Justice of the Human Rights Act 1998 42,298 October 2002 John Raine—Univesity of Birmingham And Clive Walker—University of Leeds 
			 Safety and Child Contact: An analysis of the Role of Child Contact Centres in the context of Domestic Violence and Child Welfare Concerns 41,434 December 2002 Rosemary Aris, Christine Harrison and Cathy Humpreys—University of Warwick 
			 Housing Possession Cases in the County Court: Perceptions and Experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic Defendants 83,735 December 2002 Sarah Blandy, Caroline Hunter, Diane Lister and Judy Nixon—Sheffield Hallam University 
			   
			 2003 
			 Significant Harm: Child Protection Litigation in a Multi-Cultural Setting 210,834 February 2003 Julia Brophy—University of Oxford 
			 Ethnic Minorities in the Criminal Courts: perceptions of fairness and equality of treatment 208,675 March 2003 Roger Hood—University of Oxford And Stephen Shute—University of Birmingham

IT Contracts

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list IT contracts in the Department above £50 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

Yvette Cooper: The information is as follows:
	LOCCS (various court-based IT systems): The EDS (LOCCs) contract was awarded to EDS in September 1996, to provide IT systems to Crown and county courts. The lifetime cost of the contract is assessed at £124 million, and expenditure in 2001–02 totalled £33 million.
	The initial rollout of equipment to courts was completed in August 2001. The contract was fully functional from award. The contract includes provisions to test software prior to release, and to fix software 'bugs' which are attributable to supplier software.
	The LOCCS rollout was completed to time, and subsequent major work programmes have been delivered to time.
	ARAMIS (Resource Accounting and Management Information System): This is a PFI contract for the provision of accounting, financial, HR/payroll and management information services. It was awarded in December 1997 and runs until January 2007. Its current anticipated life-time cost is £192 million, which includes enhancements to the service.
	Most services have IT elements and are delivered across an IT infrastructure provided through the contract. However, the IT system elements of the contract are not separated out from the main business functions. All the services are being provided within the lifetime of the contract, and major work programmes have been delivered to time. Debugging of the IT system elements is a process which continues through the lifetime of the contract.
	Libra (magistrates courts IT systems): The contract signed in July 2002 varied from the original contracts. It included the provision of Libra infrastructure and Office Automation only. These have been successfully rolled out to over 90 per cent. of the magistrates courts. Five (of 42) MCCs remain in the rollout programme and these will be completed by spring 2003. The Office Automation software consists of 'off-the-shelf' Microsoft Office software which does not require debugging.
	The original contracts for Libra included provision for a bespoke case management software application for magistrates courts. This is now being sourced through two other contracts, the combined value of which is expected to be £86 million. These contracts include provisions to test the software prior to release, and to fix software "bugs" which are attributable to supplier software.
	The contract with Fujitsu Services for the delivery of Libra has been varied twice since initial completion in December 1998. This has resulted in changes to the baseline making it inappropriate to compare spend to date across an original and two variants of the contract. The actual spend against the contract can be summarised as follows:
	Original ICL Contract Dec 1998: Total contracted charges expected to arise over contract life of 10.5 years—£184 million.
	Negotiated ICL Contract May 2000: Total contracted charges expected to arise over contract life of 14.5 years—£319 million
	Negotiated Fujitsu Services Contract July 2002: Total contract charges expected to arise over contract life of 8.5 years—£232 million

Libra Project

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what the costs of her Department's Libra project are (a) as originally estimated and (b) as currently planned. (97711)
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Yvette Cooper: The costs of the Libra project are set out in the National Audit Office's report: "New IT systems for Magistrates Courts: The Libra project" published on 29 January 2003 as ISBN:0102920362. Officials gave evidence on this report to the Public Accounts Committee on 10 February 2003.
	The headline costs are published in the report and show the original total project cost as at December 1998 to be £194 million. The fully delivered project is expected to cost £390 million. This £390 million breaks down as:
	Contract costs: £318 million (£232 million for the infrastructure contract with Fujitsu Services and an estimated £86 million for the two separate contracts for core application services and system integration.
	Internal project costs: £12 million
	Additional costs: £60 million (required for staff, legal and procurement advisers, costs for migration, extended legacy system costs and other enhancements to the infrastructure service which are yet to be contracted for)
	The project cost at December 1998 cannot be directly compared with the current proposal; since December 1998 the contracts underpinning the project have been subject to a number of changes in costs, timescales and scope, and these are described in the NAO Report. The project's current costs have been subject to independent, external, benchmark assessments providing assurance that they are in-line with other comparable projects in the public sector and private industry.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Low-income Families

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Office of National Statistics took responsibility for providing data on low income families.

Malcolm Wicks: There has been no change in responsibilities for data on low income families. The latest edition of Households Below Average Income statistics was published on Thursday 13 March at 9.30 am by the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The Office for National Statistics announces release dates of National Statistics series produced by all Government Departments, in the monthly ONS publication 'Updates'.

Post Office Card Accounts

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been registered for Post Office card accounts.

Malcolm Wicks: As at 21 February 2003, a total of 77,648 customers have requested a Post Office card account.

Post Office Card Accounts

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the decision to delay the issue of personal invitation documents for the post office card account.

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  for what reason the distribution of automated credit transfer personal invitation letters was delayed;
	(2)  when (a) tax credit and (b) benefit claimants will be able to use the Post Office card account.

Malcolm Wicks: As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, set out in his written answer of 3 December 2002 to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable), Official Report, columns 735–36W, the Government have decided to build up the number of benefit customers and pensioners that we pay through the Post Office card account gradually, starting from April 2003. This is to ensure that the systems supporting the Post Office card account are reliable and robust, and have proved themselves in live running, before we start to pay large numbers of customers through them. My Department's current plans for issuing Personal Invitation Documents meet our intention that, subject to acceptance of the card account service, we can start to pay some people through the Post Office card account from April 2003.
	The Inland Revenue plan to start to issue Personal Invitation Documents to tax credit customers at an appropriate point of few months after April 2003. Once tax credit customers have received their Personal Invitation Documents they will then be able to complete the Post Office application form for a card account. Tax credit customers who have a Post Office card account for their DWP benefits can start to use it for their tax credits immediately.
	None of this will affect people's choices, and in the intervening period until they receive their Personal Invitation Documents, tax credit customers opting for a Post Office card account will be paid by giro and DWP customers by order book or giro.

Automated Credit Transfer

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to publish the results of the Operational Readiness Review of the transfer of benefit payments to automated credit transfer.

Malcolm Wicks: The gated review process within the Department allows for a number of formal reviews. These reviews will ensure that senior officers obtain qualitative information to determine the readiness of the project to proceed to implementation of the changes. The outcomes of the reviews are working documents and there are currently no plans to publish these reports.

Benefit Fraud

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on (a) the objectives of the forthcoming media campaign against benefit fraud and (b) its planned budget.

Malcolm Wicks: The Targeting Fraud campaign is part of our long-term strategy to underline our message that benefit fraud will not be tolerated.
	Evaluation shows that public attitudes are moving in the right direction as a result of the campaign. We have adapted our strategy to keep messages fresh as we respond to the evaluation of the advertising. We will be considering the future development of the campaign in the light of the evaluation of the latest phase, which ran from September 2001 to March 2002.
	Expenditure on the pilot phase of the campaign was £2.2 million spanning the financial years 1999–2000 and 2000–01. The initial spell of national advertising in March 2001 cost £4.6 million and £8.9 million was spent on the campaign running from September 2001 to March 2002.

Benefit Fraud

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individual cases of benefit have been written off in the last five years; and what their financial value was.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 25 February 2003
	As part of our strategy to reduce losses from fraud and error and improve the collection of debt, in April 2001 we established the Debt Management organisation within the Department. The key priorities of Debt Management include achieving an increase in overall recoveries and a long-term reduction in debt stocks, and improving the financial control of processes and the overall efficiency of debt organisation through the establishment of specialised Debt Centres.
	In the financial year 2001–02 approximately 102,000 individual overpayments with a total value of £54 million were written off for a variety of reasons, including cases where recovery would have caused excessive hardship, or would not have been cost effective.
	In addition, under the easement package agreed with HMT approximately 390,000 overpayments worth approximately £95 million that were identified as non recoverable from the outset were written off on the basis of an average value rather than an actual calculation. Information for earlier years is not available.

Child Support

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many mothers with care have exercised their right not to give the name of the father of a child for which they are applying to receive or receiving maintenance since the CSA became operational; and if he will disaggregate this by the reason given by the mother for not giving the father's name.

Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my right hon. Friend.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Frank Field, dated 24 March 2003
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You ask how many mothers with care have exercised their right not to give the name of the father of a child for which they are applying to receive or receiving maintenance since the Child Support Agency became operational; and if he will disaggregate this by the reason given by the mother for not giving the father's name.
	I do not have the information to answer this fully. I do however have some relevant information in relation to sole parents who are in receipt of "prescribed benefits". They are obliged to provide information to the Agency. Some parents may not wish to involve the Agency because they have a genuine fear of violence or intimidation from the other alleged parent, or where there are child welfare issues, which would mean that it would not be prudent to contact the other parent. We do not press the parent with care to provide information about the other alleged parent if there are reasonable grounds to believe that to do so may harm or distress the parent with care or any child living with her—this is known as "good cause".
	I do not have figures relating to periods before April 1997. Since then approximately 650,000 applications have been made for "good cause". Around 79 per cent. of those accepted, or 120,000 cases, were on the grounds of a genuine fear of violence or intimidation. I do not know how many of these applications were from mothers rather than fathers.

Departmental Staff Survey

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of his Department's 2002 staff survey.

Ian McCartney: A copy of the results has been placed in the Library.

European Social Funding

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much and what proportion of European Social Funding was allocated to voluntary and charitable sector organisations supporting people and groups facing disadvantage in the labour market in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002; and what such funds have been committed for 2003.

Malcolm Wicks: The amount and proportion of European Social Fund money allocated to voluntary and charitable sector organisations in Great Britain was (a) £134.5 million (22.2 per cent.) in 2001 and (b) £143.4 million (16.2 per cent.) in 2002. The amount and proportion of funds committed to the sector so far in 2003 is £28.2 million (15.6 per cent.).

Helpline Operators

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library the script followed by operators on each of the Department's helplines;
	(2)  if he will place the scripts followed by operators on each of the Department's helplines in the Library.

Ian McCartney: Most of the Department's helpline staff do not follow rigid scripts. Some parts of their conversations with customers may be scripted (for instance the manner in which customers are first greeted or the questions required to establish the caller's identity), and staff may be guided by a series of prompts to ask questions about particular topics, but the large bulk of conversations with customers are not scripted as such. I would be happy to arrange for the hon. Member to visit one of our centres or to sit in on a training session for these staff to help him appreciate the nature of the work done and why it is not feasible to place scripts in the Library. However, a script is used by the Direct Payment centre and a copy has been placed in the Library.

Housing Benefit (Rent Restrictions)

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of housing benefit recipients in private regulated and deregulated tenancies were subject to reduced rent determinations in each region in England in each year since 1996 as consequence of (a) pre-1996 restrictions and (b) post-1996 restrictions.

Malcolm Wicks: Rents for tenancies in the regulated private rented sector are subject to regulatory controls through the Rent Service and Rent Assessment committees as well as subsidy controls within housing benefit. Decisions on restrictions on the amount of benefit paid in these cases are made by local authorities and no information is collected on the number of restrictions that are applied.
	Claims from tenants in the deregulated private rented sector are generally referred to the rent officer for a determination. Housing Benefit Management Information System data provided by local authorities show the numbers of these tenants whose claims to housing benefit are assessed under the local reference rent and single room rent schemes. These data do not distinguish between cases where rent is restricted following a rent officer determination and those where it is not (for example because the actual rent is sufficiently low, or the person claiming has transitional protection).
	However, using information from rent officer statistics, it is possible to e estimate the proportion of deregulated private rented sector cases referred by local authorities where housing benefit would be restricted if the overall claim was successful. Estimates are in the table.
	Estimated proportions of deregulated private rented sector cases referred to the rent officer which would be subject to reduced rent determinations under pre-1996 and post-1996 restrictions if the housing benefit claim was successful, by English Government Office Region.
	
		Percentage
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 
			 Government Office Region Pre-1996 Post 1996 Pre-1996 Post 1996 Pre-1996 Post 1996 Pre-1996 Post 1996 Pre-1996 Post 1996 
		
		
			 London 23 47 19 49 19 48 19 44 21 39 
			 North West 19 49 25 50 26 50 30 48 34 43 
			 West Midlands 19 45 22 45 21 46 21 44 21 40 
			 North East 31 41 33 43 35 41 38 37 46 30 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 27 42 24 49 25 48 26 47 28 44 
			 East Midlands 31 41 27 48 28 47 26 46 26 43 
			 Eastern 15 49 11 56 11 56 10 57 10 52 
			 South East 18 44 15 52 16 50 17 46 19 43 
			 South West 21 44 16 52 15 52 16 47 21 42 
			 Total 22 45 21 50 21 49 22 46 26 41 
		
	
	Note
	1. The data refer to households claiming Housing Benefit (HB), which may be a single person, a couple or a family. More than one benefit household can live in one property, for example two or more adults in a flat or house share arrangement.
	2. Pre-1996 reduced rent determinations apply to cases where the accommodation is deemed to be too large for the household or where the rent is exceptionally high for the accommodation.
	3. Post-1996 reduced rent determinations include restrictions under the local reference rent (LRR) and single room rent (SRR) schemes only. The LRR was introduced in January 1996 and a revised scheme introduced in October 1997. The SRR was introduced in October 1996.
	4. Cases subject to reduced rent determinations as a consequence of both pre-1996 and post-1996 restrictions have been included under the restriction that reduces the rent to the lowest amount.
	5. Estimates assume that all cases are subject to all determinations in place at the time. In practice, some cases will have transitional protection from the post-1996 restrictions, so will not have their actual rent restricted. This will be particularly likely in the early years when more cases would have transitional protection.
	6. The data relate to all referrals made over a year. They will differ from the HB caseload in that some claims will not be successful (for example, because the person's income is too high) and because some people may claim more often than others (for example, because they move house, or leave and then return to benefit). The figures will therefore over-rep resent short duration claims.
	7. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
	Source:
	Rent Officer data (England and Wales) for April to March of each year.

Housing Benefit (Rent Restrictions)

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of housing benefit claimants in the private rented sector were subject to restrictions as a result of rent officer determinations that the rent was (a) above the local reference rent but below the reasonable market rent, (b) above the reasonable market rent and (c) over-large for the occupying household, for each English region, in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: Housing Benefit Management Information System data provided by local authorities show the numbers of tenants in the deregulated private rented sector whose claims to housing benefit are assessed under the local reference rent and single room rent schemes. These data do not distinguish between cases where rent is restricted following a rent officer determination and those where it is not (for example because the actual rent is sufficiently low, or the person claiming has transitional protection).
	However, using information from rent officer statistics, it is possible to estimate the proportion of deregulated private rented sector cases referred by local authorities where housing benefit would be restricted if the overall claim was successful. The latest available estimates are in the table.
	Estimated proportions of deregulated private rented sector cases referred to the rent officer which would be subject to reduced rent determinations if the housing benefit claim was successful, by types of restriction, by English Government Office Region in 2000–01.
	
		Percentage
		
			  Rent above local reference rent and single room rent but below reasonable market rent Rent above reasonable market rent Over large accommodation 
		
		
			 London 14 38 8 
			 North West 13 46 19 
			 West Midlands 19 23 19 
			 North West 8 36 32 
			 Yorks and Humber 14 32 26 
			 East Midlands 17 26 26 
			 Eastern 23 20 19 
			 South East 16 31 14 
			 South West 15 31 16 
			 Total 15 34 18 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data refer to households claiming housing benefit (HB), which may be a single person, a couple or a family. More than one benefit household can live in one property, for example two or more adults in a flat or house share arrangement.
	2. Where a HB claim was first made before October 1997, or October 1996 for SRR cases, the case will have transitional protection from LRR and SRR restrictions. Rent officer data do not distinguish between these cases, and the estimates therefore represent the proportion of referrals where the rent would be restricted assuming that all referrals were liable to such restriction.
	3. The data relate to all referrals made over a year. They will differ from the HB case load in that some claims will not be successful (for example, because the person's income is too high) and because some people may claim more often than others, for example, because they move house, or leave and then return to benefit. The figures will therefore over-represent short duration claims.
	4. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
	Source:
	Rent Officer data (England and Wales) for April 2000 to March 2001.

Jobcentre Plus

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place the reports of the mystery shoppers who have visited Jobcentre Plus centres in the Library; and if he will make a statement on the use of mystery shoppers by Jobcentre Plus.

Nick Brown: holding answer 13 March 2003
	The use of mystery shoppers in Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive, Clare Dodgson. She will write to the hon. member.
	Letter from Clare Dodgson to Mr. Oliver Heald, dated 21 March 2003
	As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the placing of mystery shopping reports in the Library, and the use of mystery shoppers by Jobcentre Plus. This falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of the Agency.
	It may be helpful if I explain how the mystery shopping programme is used within Jobcentre Plus, and how our performance is currently reported internally and externally.
	Mystery Shopping is a recognised process used in both public and private sector organisations, as a method of providing an independent measure of the service received by customers.
	Within Jobcentre Plus we have a Customers' Charter based not only on the 6 Whitehall Service standards, but also after consultation with our customers, includes elements of service that are important to them. We use a mystery shopping programme to measure how well we deliver service against the standards and commitments we have set, and results are used by my managers to direct improvements in their performance.
	The Jobcentre Plus programme is one of the biggest in the UK and all main parts of delivery are included. Each quarter every Jobcentre Plus location receives a number of different mystery shopping contacts. This means that nationally we produce in excess of 6,500 individual reports every quarter.
	These reports are then aggregated into individual site performance summaries and District and national reports. In accordance with Jobcentre Plus overall performance reporting arrangements, we publish details of District results on the Jobcentre Plus website each quarter (www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk) and a copy of this has been placed in the Library. The individual office reports provide detailed feedback from the shoppers that managers will use to identify areas for improvement. The content of the questionnaires used in the mystery shopping programme are commercial in confidence and I am therefore unable to place copies in the House of Commons Library.
	I would also like to reassure you that while we use the Mystery Shopping programme to measure service delivery against defined standards, we regularly review those standards and seek the views of our customers and other stakeholders.
	We have just completed the first National Customer Satisfaction survey, which explicitly asks customers to comment on their level of satisfaction with the different elements of customer service. It also asks them to tell us what is important and where we are not meeting their expectations. We expect to be publishing the findings from this survey in the late spring and will use the information this gives us to focus our improvement efforts.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the grounds for the decision by the London Region of Jobcentre Plus to reduce the number of staff working in its local office network;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the impact on service delivery of the reduction by the London Region of Jobcentre Plus of staff working in its local office network.

Nick Brown: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of the Jobcentre Plus, Clare Dodgson. She will write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Clare Dodgson to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 21 March 2003
	As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, I have been asked to reply to your questions concerning the reduction of staff numbers in Jobcentre Plus. This falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of the Agency.
	The national roll-out of Jobcentre Plus is bringing together the old separate Jobcentres and Benefit Offices to form our new integrated offices, which will provide both services in one place. Staff movement between different roles is an ongoing feature of the development of this new service.
	As part of our drive for efficiency and this modernisation of our services, Jobcentre Plus is reducing staffing levels in line with agreed workforce planning targets. This has included the migration of some staff to vacancies elsewhere within Departmental Agencies. It was clear, as part of these plans, that London Region would need to release the overwhelming majority of its temporary staff, approximately 5% of its workforce. Union officials have been kept informed of progress throughout the year.
	The radical modernisation of our services as part of the Jobcentre Plus roll-out will inevitably lead to some disruption. However, we are managing these changes to minimise any negative impact on the delivery of our services to customers.
	I hope this is helpful.

Ministerial Travel

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list internal flights made by Ministers in his Department in 2002, including in each case the (a) cost, (b) departure location and (c) destination; and of these how many were (i) first class, (ii) business class and (iii) economy class.

Ian McCartney: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office in response to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W.

National Insurance

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps were taken in the 1970s to publicise the introduction of Home Responsibilities Protection with particular reference to its implications for those women with an election to pay married women's reduced rate national insurance contributions.

Ian McCartney: Because it was considered that some married women might wish to revoke their election to pay reduced rate contributions in order to benefit from Home Responsibilities Protection, a special insert was placed in child benefit order books to draw their attention to this. This was in addition to the information in leaflets and other media.

National Insurance

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library copies of the literature and materials sent to (a) individual women, (b) employers and (c) placed in Social Security offices in connection with each of the large-scale publicity campaigns run by his Department in (i) 1977, (ii) 1989 and (iii) 2000 aimed at married women who had a valid election to pay national insurance contributions at the reduced rate; and if he will make a statement on the other methods his Department used to advertise the changes to the system in each of these years.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The literature and material in respect of the pre-2000 publicity were placed in the Library of the House on 25 May 2000 and 20 January 2003 following a series of Parliamentary Questions in respect of this issue—Official Report, volume 350, column 584W and volume 398, column 86W.
	I have today placed in the House Library, copies of the mailshot and press release issued in October 2000.

National Insurance

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many letters were issued to married women who had a valid election to pay national insurance contributions at the reduced rate in each of the large-scale publicity campaigns run by his Department in (a) 1977, (b) 1989 and (c) 2000; and if he will list the criteria that were used to identify those women who were sent a letter.

Ian McCartney: In 1977, no letters were issued to married women who had a valid election to pay National Insurance contributions at the reduced rate. Women were targeted via their employers, and flyers were enclosed with their payslips alerting them to the changes.
	In 1989, the publicity campaign was aimed at some 400,000 women. They were sent letters to inform them that they could be better off paying standard rate National Insurance contributions because of the proposed change to the National Insurance structure. The criteria used to select these women were that their National Insurance account showed an open reduced rate election, they had paid reduced rate National Insurance contributions in the 1986–87 and/or 1987–88 tax years and that they were generally low earners in which case the standard rate contributions would be less than the reduced rate.
	In 2000, nearly 253,000 letters were issued. These women were identified by scanning the National Insurance Record System computer. All those who had a valid election to pay the reduced rate were sent a letter.

Parliamentary Questions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer (a) questions 90623, 90624 tabled on 9 January and 95041 tabled on 28 January, on married women's pensions, (b) questions 91289, 91290, 91291 and 91292, on automated credit transfer, tabled on 13 January, (c) question 91293, on post office card accounts, tabled on 13 January, (d) question 92155, on Home Responsibilities Protection, tabled on 16 January and (e) question 95275, on the implication of the abolition of the half-test on married women, tabled on 29 January.

Malcolm Wicks: Replies have been given to the hon. Member.

Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 28 January, ref 91305, on married women's pensions, 
	(1)  (a) what criteria were used to determine which women were invited to claim, (b) how many such women were invited to claim, and (c) how many responses he received; and if he will place in the Library (i) a copy of the promotional material relating to the publicity campaign and (ii) a copy of the letter sent to the women identified from the database trawl;
	(2)  what steps his Department took to alert women below state pension age of the implications of the abolition of the half-test for the advisability of their remaining on the married women's reduced national insurance rate.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 31 January 2003
	The women invited to claim a Category A pension where they had previously failed the married women's half-test, were determined by using the following criteria, that:
	(i) they were now entitled to a Category A pension of at least 25 per cent.;
	(ii) no Category A pension had previously been awarded because of a failure to satisfy the half-test; and
	(iii) results of previous claims had been fed back to Newcastle Records specifically as either "Claim disallowed" or "No title established" because of the half-test.
	Information on how many women were invited to claim and how many responses were received is not available. However, it was estimated that some 25,000 married women would benefit from the change.
	A copy of leaflet NI256 issued as part of the publicity campaign has been placed in the Library. Other publicity material and actual copies of the letters sent to women are no longer readily available as over time they have become obsolete.
	There is a distinct difference between the married women's' half-test and the married women's reduced national insurance rate contributions in that the half-test provided women with entitlement to a State Pension in their own right but the married women's reduced national insurance rate contributions do not.

Pensions

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans the Government have to promote (a) take-up of the new Pension Credit and (b) take-up of the credit by the poorest and most isolated pensioners.

Ian McCartney: To support the take-on of pension credit a marketing campaign has been developed that seeks to address the specific needs of pensioners and those who support them such as family and friends.
	The core of the campaign involves contacting all pensioner households by direct mail and inviting them to make their applications by telephone. In this way we can support and complete the application form for them. The Pension Service will start writing to pensioner households to invite applications in April 2003 and plan to complete this activity in June 2004. This systematic approach will be supported by regional and national advertising around the launch of Pension Credit and when it becomes payable.
	By working with local partners, The Pension Service will be able to help vulnerable pensioners or those who need to overcome barriers that might prevent them from applying.
	To ensure pensioners do not lose out, a 12 month backdating provision will exist until October 2004. This will allow applications to be backdated to October 2003 where entitlement exists.

Pensions

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential impact of combined pension forecasting on encouraging people to save for their retirement.

Ian McCartney: The purpose of the combined pension forecast is to provide people with good information about their current and future retirement incomes in order to help them make better informed decisions about their needs in retirement and raise awareness of the importance of making adequate provision.
	The pilot phase of the combined pension forecast initiative provided us with an indication of the potential impact of the statement on recipients. Individual detailed results demonstrating the impact of the combined statement and their potential to encourage people to save more for their retirement are commercially sensitive. We do not have the permission of all the participating companies to release all the data. It would, therefore, be inappropriate to publish this information. However, in total some 98 per cent. of those who received a forecast found it useful and 31 per cent. sought further information about increasing their pension provision.

Pensions

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will adjust council tax benefit and housing benefit for pensioners to ensure that council tax and rent increases do not exceed any increase in the state retirement pension.

Malcolm Wicks: We want all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement and to share fairly in the rising prosperity of the country. The Government's first priority has been to help the poorest pensioners and from April 2002, we are spending an extra £6 billion a year in real terms on pensioners as a result of policies introduced since 1997.
	In general, people receiving council tax benefit or housing benefit have any increases in their rent or council tax paid in full.
	The only exceptions to this are for people living in expensive properties in council tax band 'F' or above (council tax benefit is restricted to the level of band 'E'), and for people in the private rented sector who have their housing benefit capped because of the level of their rent. However, these affect only a very small proportion of pensioners.
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit are targeted at those people with the lowest incomes who are in most need of financial support. We have no plans to extend the availability of these benefits more widely.

Pensioner Income

Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of the number of pensioners with an income of (a) £200 to £210, (b) £211 to £220 and (c) £221 and above who are in receipt of council tax benefit and housing benefit in Northampton.

Malcolm Wicks: The available information is in the table.
	
		Pensioners with a weekly income of £200.01 or more receiving housing benefit and/or council tax benefit in the East Midlands Government Office Region by income band in May 2001
		
			 Weekly income Housing benefit recipients Council tax benefit recipients 
		
		
			  
			  
			 £200.01 to £210.00 6,000 8,000 
			 £210.01 to £220.00 5,000 7,000 
			 £220.01 and above 28,000 34,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information is not available for Northampton borough council area.
	2. Figures are based on a 1 per cent. sample and are subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	3. The data refer to households claiming housing benefit which may be a single person, a couple or a family. More than one benefit household can live in one property, for example two or more adults in a flat or house share arrangement.
	4. Pensioners are defined as households where the benefit recipient or their partner is aged 60 or over.
	5. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
	6. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.
	7. The figures exclude any extended payment cases.
	8. Council tax benefit figures exclude second adult rebates.
	9. There will be a significant overlap between the figures as a number of people receive both housing benefit and council tax benefit.
	10. Income figures are derived from those declared for the assessment of income-related benefits (including disregarded income) and net earnings from employment and self-employment.
	Source:
	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 2001.

Post Office Accessibility

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with members of organisations representing people with disabilities on ensuring that cash machines used to access benefits at post offices will be accessible for disabled people; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure blind and partially sighted people are able to withdraw benefits in cash from a post office.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 13 March 2003
	The detailed arrangements for collecting cash from bank accounts or the Post Office card account at Post Office branches are the responsibility of Post Office Limited. Post Office Limited have already acknowledged that some people may have problems using the PIN pads that have recently been installed in post office branches. The Post Office are now taking immediate action to address this and have invited the RNIB and other disability groups to work further with them.
	All Customers will be given information about all of the account options available and it will be for them to consider which account best meets their needs and circumstances. The Department meets regularly with external interest groups including RNIB, RNID and Disability Alliance to discuss all issues surrounding Direct Payment.

Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times he has visited Scotland on official duties each year since 2000; and what meetings were held on each occasion.

Andrew Smith: Since my appointment as Secretary of State, I have visited Scotland once in 2002 and once this year. As the hon. Member will be aware, my predecessor my right hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Darling) resides in Scotland.
	In line with exemptions 2 and 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, it is not the normal practice of Governments to release details of specific meetings or their content, as some of these discussions may have taken place on a confidential basis.

Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many special advisers in the Department (a) have left and (b) will be leaving to work in Scotland for the Labour Party in the forthcoming Scottish parliamentary elections.

Ian McCartney: The rules relating to special advisers' political activities are set out in the Model Contract for Special Advisers. Further guidance in respect of elections for the Scottish Parliament is set out at paragraph 13 of the Guidance on Conduct for Civil Servants in UK Departments, published by the Cabinet Office on 10 March.
	The reasons for a special adviser's resignation are a private matter between the Department and adviser, and are therefore exempt from disclosure under paragraph 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Information.

Verification Framework

Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the effect the removal of benefit periods for pensioners from October will have on the operation of the Verification Framework.

Ian McCartney: One of the key elements of the Housing Benefit reforms announced in October 2002 was the removal of benefit periods for pensioners and people of working age. Officials have consulted with the Local Authority Associations on proposals for the replacement of benefit periods, and are in the process of finalising the new arrangements. These proposals include work on the impact on the Verification Framework, both for pensioners and working age customers.
	We expect to announce the new arrangements shortly.